Chaos
by TheApex
Summary: After the violent murder of his parents Takato Matsuki gains mysterious powers beyond his wildest dreams. As Shinjuku becomes increasingly dangerous will he become a beacon of justice for his city, or will his lust for vengeance forever corrupt him?Rukato
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own Digimon, any of it's characters or it's ideas. This is a non-profit work of fiction written purely for entertainment purposes.

**CHAOS**

By TheApex

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><p><strong>PROLOGUE<strong>

Wishes

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><p>Graduation. An important day for all young people as they finish compulsory education to move out into the world. A day which symbolizes the transition from boy to man and girl to woman. A rite of passage celebrated with family and friends. For those who were fortunate enough to have both friends and family of course. Not all were so lucky.<p>

A young man walked solitary through the peaceful cemetery, his path lit up by the fading sunlight. The sky was clear, not a cloud in sight. His gleaming black shoes made a crunching sound as he walked over the gravelly stones of the pathway. His black trousers were a perfect fit and without a crease in sight. The matching jacket was much the same, making him look very tall and slim. His black tie was secured tightly around the collar of his white shirt. His hair was unusually well groomed by his standards, even as the light wind passed through the thick brown threads.

He stopped in front of two solid marble grey matching headstones. He bent down slowly and carefully placed the bunch of white lilies he had been clutching between the headstones. He kissed his index and middle fingers before placing them gently on top of each stone. He stood up again and looked over the few words that adorned each one.

'Mie Matsuki, 25 May 1969 – 10 August 2008, beloved mother, wife, and friend' read the stone on the left. 'Takehiro Matsuki, 18 September 1965 – 10 August 2008, beloved father, husband and friend' read the stone on the right. They were both very simply designed headstones, consisting only of the few words chosen by their son. There were no fancy borders or elaborate text fonts. Simple, yet somehow comforting.

'_I miss you, Mom and Dad. Today was hard, seeing everybody hugging their parents after the graduation ceremony. All I could think about was you two'_, Takato Matsuki thought to himself. _'I can't believe you've been gone nearly three years now'_.

The sun had almost set. Takato wasn't sure exactly how long he had spent at the graves. He was so lost in his memories he hadn't realised his body had started to shiver ever so slightly as it had gradually become colder and colder.

"I had a feeling I would find you here," came a familiar voice from behind. A startled Takato pivoted on his feet to turn to face the source of the voice that had brought him out of his thoughts and back to reality.

There a blue haired boy stood. His grey eyes gazed over Takato as he walked towards his suited friend. He wore a black t-shirt covered by a sleeveless bright orange jacket, his legs covered by a pair of brown jeans, and a pair of dark trainers finished his look. He gave a slight, but warm smile towards Takato.

"Henry? What are you doing here?" Takato asked quietly. He was quite surprised to see Henry here on today of all days. He had expected Henry to be at the graduation party by now enjoying a few drinks and socialising with all the other teenagers in their class.

"I was looking for you after the graduation ceremony but I couldn't find you anywhere. I asked around and nobody knew where you'd gone. I went home quickly to change and then I headed here. I figured the one place you'd want to be today would be here," Henry explained.

"Oh", Takato replied. "Thanks Henry, but you didn't have to come here. I'm alright, really."

"I'm sure you are. Truth be told, I thought about your parents a lot today. They were really nice to me, despite all the mischief we got up to when I used to stay over at yours," Henry said with a smile.

Takato felt the corners of his mouth rise up at that. Henry used to sleep over at Takato's place a lot in previous years. Takato remembered how his mother scolded them for waking her up with their screams while they were watching horror movies at three in the morning, and the mess they made when they once tried to cook a can of fizzy cola in a microwave which resulted in a blown up kitchen appliance and both boys being grounded for two weeks by their respective parents.

"We did get ourselves into a lot of trouble, didn't we?" Takato chuckled.

"Yeah, we drove your parents pretty crazy sometimes," Henry said.

There was a pause as the two young men reflected on their colourful, happy past.

"I wish they were still here," Takato said. "I wish I could have saved them."

"Don't do that to yourself Takato. There was nothing you could have done."

"You don't know that though. If I'd been there, maybe I could have stopped that bastard from…from shooting my parents," Takato said dejectedly.

His hands curled into fists of anger. His parents had been taken from him unfairly and unjustly. And their killer had escaped unpunished due to a supposed 'lack of evidence'. It had been an outrageous injustice, and a failure on the investigative team's part. Takato lost faith in the police and the justice system as a whole after the trial of his parent's killer, and that lack of faith had slowly grown into disgust.

"We've been down this road before Takato. You were only fifteen at the time. If you had been there, there could just as easily have been three grave stones here instead of two. Your parents definitely wouldn't have wanted that," Henry softly replied.

"It doesn't stop me from wishing I had the power to save them though. I would do anything to have that chance. And if I can't have that, then I'd gladly take half an hour alone in a room with the man who ruined my life!" Takato said spitefully.

There was an awkward silence as the two friends looked at each other, both unsure of what to say next. What else was there to say? The silence seemed to last an eternity until it was broken by the sound of Henry's phone receiving a text message. He quickly looked at his phone's screen before sliding it back into his pocket.

"People are starting to wonder where we are," Henry stated, glad for the reason to break the silence. "Come on, let's go to the party. Your parents would want you to enjoy today as much as you can. We can only graduate high school once in our lives after all."

"You go on ahead. I'll go home to change and I'll see you there later."

"I'll hold you to that! Don't be too late," Henry said.

Takato nodded, forcing a smile to placate the blue haired boy. Henry returned the smile and began walking the path out of the cemetery. Takato watched as he slowly disappeared from view, and then turned back towards the grave stones.

"I'll be back soon," he promised.

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><p>As soon as Takato arrived home, he quickly headed for his bedroom to change into his usual royal blue hoody and grey shorts. He pondered the choice momentarily, before deciding on grey jeans instead. It was already gone eight o'clock, and the streets of West Shinjuku were surprisingly cold for a mid-summer's night. He placed his feet in his trainers and hurriedly tied the laces up.<p>

A bright light shone in from the bedroom window, and Takato had just about enough time to look up as a ball of light phased through the panes of glass, bounced once on the floor and slammed squarely into his chest, knocking him clean off his feet and sending him hard into a wall. He cried out as his chest burned hotter and hotter as the ball of light seemed to force its way inside of him.

The light disappeared and Takato fell to the floor, his face colliding unforgivingly with the course carpet. He groaned as he slowly used his palms to push himself up onto his knees.

'_What the hell just happened to me? What was that thing? Where did it go?' _

Questions raced through his confused mind, questions which he had no answers for. He frantically lifted his hoody up to check his chest. To his surprise, he found no burns, holes or cuts where the light had buried itself. He ran his hand over the entry point. It felt the same as before, albeit slightly hotter than the surrounding flesh that made up the rest of his chest.

'_Did that really just happen?'_ he questioned with a thought.

He was interrupted by a vibration in his pocket. He took out his phone and read the new text he received.

_Where are you Takato? You're missing all the fun!_

'_The party! I completely forgot! Oh man, after what just happened I don't know if I should be going out at all. I mean, I feel fine and all, but I might not in a few hours! That thing could be doing who knows what inside me right now!' _

He inspected his chest once more before slowly lowering his hoody back down again. He studied himself in the mirror. He didn't look ill, or worse for wear. His deep brown eyes were as bright as ever, his cheeks their typical pale-like tone and his mouth attempting a smile as if to reassure himself of his good health. It just about did enough.

'_Well, I only get to graduate once. Might as well try and enjoy it!'_

He picked up his keys, turned the bedroom light off and headed for the front door and towards the party.

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><p><strong>AN: **It's been a while since I've written a story (I think it's been about two years actually) so I'm a tad rusty, and I'm aware that this probably isn't very well written. I've just been wanting to get back into fanfiction for a while now, and I thought I'd better just dive back in instead of just thinking about it all the time! So here I am, getting back into the swing of things.

I hope it isn't too bad! I'm hoping my plot lines can make up for my lack of writing finesse. As I'm sure you're aware if you made it this far, this is an AU story. No Digimon (sorry!) will be in this story. I don't think I'll be including characters like Kazu, Kenta, Jeri, Ryo or Suzie, however I may change that as I develop the story. I have a vague idea of where I want this to go.

This will be a dark fic that mainly focuses on Takato, Rika and Henry. Oh, and Takato's alter ego of course, but more on that in future chapters. Future chapters which I hope you'll stick around for! Please do review, it'll encourage me to write more, and constructive criticism is of course appreciated!


	2. Discoveries

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Digimon, any of its characters or its ideas. This is a non-profit work of fiction written purely for entertainment purposes.

**CHAOS**

By TheApex

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><p><strong>CHAPTER ONE<strong>

Discoveries

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><p>It was the very early hours of the morning. The cool wind breezed past Takato as he walked making the hairs of the back of his neck stand to attention. The streets of West Shinjuku were empty and silent. Almost eerily so, but Takato was too intoxicated to notice. He had just left his graduation party, and it had been more fun than he'd anticipated it being.<p>

He'd made an effort to speak to everybody there at least once and found that he was bombarded with offers of drinks. He was more than happy to accept! That wasn't to say he was completely drunk however. He just about managed to walk in a straight line, and he hadn't forgotten the direction he was going in. The thought of his own bed and sleeping until the afternoon was enough motivation for him to keep checking his whereabouts to ensure he was still on the right track.

As he looked around, Takato noted that the streets of West Shinjuku were beautiful at night. He hadn't really noticed before, and with the streets being as busy as they are during the day he couldn't stop and stare in the crowd without being a nuisance to others. But right now under the dark night sky he took in his surroundings.

Even at this hour of the night, street lights illuminated the streets. Shop signs were still lit up, although he couldn't decide why they would still be on while the shops themselves were closed. The streets themselves were ever so clean. There were no stray wrappers or plastic shopping bags flying around, and the walls were devoid of any kind of urban vandalism.

'_I love this city,' _Takato thought to himself. He'd grown up in the Shinjuku ward of Tokyo, and he couldn't imagine living anywhere else. Shinjuku was his home, for better or worse. Unbeknown to him, Takato was about to experience the less pleasant side of his home city.

A tall stocky man burst out of an alleyway startling Takato. He was dressed all in black, with a black ski mask covering his face. He wore black leather gloves, and held in his right hand a crowbar. Given the considerable difference in size between the mysterious stranger and Takato, it didn't look like he needed a weapon.

"Gah!" Takato exclaimed as he stumbled over his own feet and fell backwards towards the floor. He landed hard on his buttocks, much to the other man's amusement.

"Look kid, I don't want to hurt you. Just give me what you have and that will be the end of it," a deep voice said. He didn't sound too frightening. In fact, to Takato's surprise he sounded almost sympathetic towards him.

"Uh, well I uh…I kinda need my stuff you know…m-maybe you could uh, I don't know…let me go?" Takato mumbled nervously.

"Listen kid, I wasn't asking you, I was telling you. You are going to give me your belongings of your own free will, or I am going to take it from you," the man said, stroking the crowbar with his free hand. "It is up to you how you want this to go down."

"W-well, uh, i-it's not really my own free will…cause you see you have a uh…you know, one of those things…and I'm pretty sure you're going to use it if I don't do what you want…"

The man in black reached down and grabbed Takato by the throat. He pulled him up and thrust him up against a wall. He softly tapped the sharp curved edge of the crowbar against Takato's cheek. Takato's eyes widened in fear as he began to realise the inevitable outcome of this encounter.

"Whatever kid. I'm taking your stuff, and there's nothing you can do about it, so just stay still for me. This is your last chance before I have to hurt you," he warned.

Takato squirmed as the man began to dig through his pockets.

'_I am sick of bad stuff happening to me! I am NOT going to let this happen without a fight!'_

Takato grabbed the hand around his throat and attempted to yank it away and twist it. He expected to fail miserably, given his lack of real strength and fighting technique. However, to his surprise, it worked. The two men heard the snap of bones breaking as Takato twisted the wrist with all his strength.

"ARGH FUCK!" the man cried in pain and shock. He stumbled backwards; dropping the crowbar as he carefully gripped his now broken wrist.

Takato panted as he stroked his throat softly. He was sure there would be marks there in the morning from where his attacker had grabbed him. He looked at the man groaning in pain and realisation hit him like a tonne of bricks falling on his head.

'_Holy SHIT! What just happened? Did I actually just break his wrist? I-I mean I couldn't have! I'm so small and weak compared to him!'_

"You're dead now you little shit!" the man spat as he grabbed the crowbar in his usable hand.

He lunged forward and took a swing at Takato's head. He swung fast with as much strength as he could muster. He was sure to cause a fatal blow if the sharp edge of the crowbar were to make contact with Takato's skull.

Primal instinct took over. Keeping his eyes on the crowbar rapidly soaring towards his face, he bent his knees and ducked just in time to avoid the vicious blow. He curled his fingers on his right hand inwards, locking them in place with his thumb to form a tight fist, and then used his bent knees to propel his body forwards towards the bigger man. He thrust his fist towards the ski-mask clad face.

There was an almost sickening smacking sound as fist met face with devastating accuracy. The full force of the punch drove the man backwards at least ten feet. He was blown completely off his feet, and landed hard on his back on the tarmac road. He continued to slide back a few feet until the friction of his clothes and the road caused him to stop moving. His face fell to one side. He'd lost consciousness mid-air and didn't feel the impact of his landing.

Takato looked on in amazement. Where had this super strength come from? He should never have been able to do that to anyone, especially not a stocky giant like his attacker. He didn't go to the gym; he'd never even lifted a weight properly in his life! He didn't play hard contact sports, and he didn't participate in any martial arts classes, despite Henry's persistent attempts to teach him some basic moves. He was the most unlikeliest of fighters there he knew.

'_That light ball! It has to be that thing…whatever it was. I knew it was doing something to me! I hope that's all it's done, I think I've done enough damage for one night…'_

He quickly ran over to the motionless body in the road. He bent down and placed two fingers under the man's ski-mask onto his neck. He found a strong pulse. Takato breathed a sigh of relief. Despite what the man had tried to do to him, Takato didn't want to kill him. He reached into the man's pocket and pulled out a phone. He quickly dialled 119.

"Shinjuku emergency services, how may I help you?" came the voice on the other end of the line.

"Uh I need an ambulance now outside…" he quickly looked around and saw a sign reading 'Izzy's Computer World.' "…Izzy's Computer World in West Shinjuku. Hurry!"

He hung up the phone, quickly placed it back in the pocket he'd found it in, pulled his hood up over his head and ran off towards home before the ambulance could arrive.

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><p>One of the few cars driving around the deserted streets of West Shinjuku that night was a silver BMW. It was a beautiful car, and quite noticeably new. The car's body reflected the shine of the street lights as it sped down the quiet roads.<p>

The driver was a young woman of eighteen years. She had flame coloured hair tied up in a spiky pineapple-esque style. She had a fringe which settled about an inch above her eye line, and a few stray strands hung down on each side of her face. Her purple eyes scanned the road ahead as she drove. She glanced down at her speedometer before quickly changing gear and slamming her foot down aggressively on the pedal.

She gripped the wheel hard and twisted it harshly as she zoomed around a corner. She gritted her teeth tightly as she recalled the events of earlier that evening. It had been her graduation evening at her private school. She didn't want to go, but when she told her mother of her plans not to attend she became very upset and pleaded with her daughter to go.

Reluctantly, the young woman agreed. She would go to the stupid ceremony if it made her mother happy. She would go through the motions and leave swiftly. She wasn't the most social of people anyway, so she doubted anybody would have been alarmed at her quick exit. But when the moment came and she stood on stage with her class, she looked in the audience for her mother and grandmother.

Only her grandmother had bothered to turn up. She glared at the empty seat next to her grandmother, and stormed up to her grandmother as soon as the ceremony was over.

"Where the hell is she?" she demanded to know. "I only came to this stupid thing because she practically begged me to, and then she couldn't even be bothered to turn up!"

"Rika, I know you're angry. Your mother got a call this afternoon about a last minute modelling shoot. She had to leave for the airport right away," Seiko explained. "She was really disappointed that she couldn't be here today, but you know how important her work is to her."

'_More important than me,'_ Rika thought bitterly as she changed gear again. She was now well over the speed limit, but she didn't care. She needed an outlet for her anger, and racing around the streets in her new car seemed like a good idea at the time. It wasn't really working, however. She was still fuming, and she'd been driving for a good forty-five minutes or so.

'_Screw this, it's not working. I'm going home before I crash this stupid car.'_

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><p>Takato glanced at his watch as he ran. It had been twenty minutes since he'd called the emergency services, and ten minutes since he saw an ambulance shoot past him, sirens blaring. He was sure the guy would be alright.<p>

'_Ah why should I care? I mean, he did try to kill me after all!'_

Takato ran out into the road without looking where he was going. Bright lights coming from his left blinded him. He stopped and raised his arms to block the light from his eyes. As his eyes refocused, he could see a silver car heading straight for him. He could hear the car's brakes making a screeching sound as the car slid towards him regardless.

'_Aw crap!'_

He quickly bent his knees and jumped up. A futile attempt he was sure, but perhaps if he jumped the car might not break his legs on impact. Maybe he'd just crash into the window, or roll over the car as it ploughed forward? He didn't know, but it was worth a try.

Takato closed his eyes. He seemed to hang in the air for an eternity before gravity took hold. He was waiting for the inevitable crash of steel and bone, but it didn't happen. He fell towards the ground and landed on his feet. He opened his eyes and to his surprise, he seemed to have jumped _over_ the car! He turned his head around to see the silver BMW screech to a halt about twenty feet behind him.

* * *

><p>'<em>That IDIOT!'<em>

Rika practically ripped off her seatbelt before pushing the door open and jumping out. She walked towards the kneeling man she had very nearly just run over.

"What the hell are you doing? Are you mentally deficient? I could have killed you, you moron!" she raged.

She looked him over. She couldn't see his face as he had his back to her and he had a hood on, concealing his face. To her surprise, he got up and ran off, like nothing had happened. That fuelled her anger even more.

"HEY! Come back here now!" she demanded.

It was pointless. The figure disappeared from sight down a narrow alleyway across the road. She stormed back towards her car and got in. She pulled her door shut hard before gripping the wheel once more, ready to carry on her journey home.

'_Wait a minute, how in the hell did he jump over my car like that? Even professional gymnasts can't jump that high, and certainly not with seconds notice!'_ she thought to herself. _'This city is full of freaks. As if my day couldn't get any worse.'_

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><p>Takato ran through a few more alleyways before stopping to catch his breath. The owner of that car seemed extremely angry, and he really did not want another confrontation tonight. He was confused enough as it is. He touched his chest where the light disappeared inside him earlier that evening.<p>

'_What is happening to me?'_

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><p><strong>AN: **So here we are with chapter one! I hope you've enjoyed it. We have a glimpse at Takato's rather calamitous discovery of some of his new powers, namely super strength and super jump/enhanced jump. Not sure what to call it really, but basically he can jump pretty damn high!

Also we have an introduction to Rika! Not exactly a great first meeting, but a first meeting nonetheless. The first of many to come! Although I wouldn't anticipate future chapters to be up quite as quickly as this in future. However the plan is to update at least once a week!

**John C:** If you're reading this, I would have sent you a review reply but you weren't logged in so I couldn't. My decision not to include the Digimon is because Takato's transformation essentially becomes pointless if there are Digimon running around. There wouldn't be any need for Takato to develop powers if Guilmon is around to biomerge with. In terms of the other characters, I never really liked Ryo, and so I don't feel I'd do the character justice. And I always found Jeri rather boring as a character without the D-Reaper around. Besides, I have an unorthodox love triangle planned for Takato and Rika. More on that as the story develops!

I hope you've enjoyed this chapter so far. Please do review, as it inspires me to write more, and constructive criticism is always welcome!


	3. Mornings

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Digimon, any of its characters or its ideas. This is a non-profit work of fiction written purely for entertainment purposes.

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><p><strong>CHAOS<strong>

By TheApex

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><p><strong>CHAPTER TWO<strong>

Mornings

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><p>The Sun's early morning rays beat down on the city of Tokyo, making the daily commute to work even more stuffy than usual. Cars stuck in traffic jams on the motorway baked the unfortunate people stuck inside them. Trains were boiling, packed with already sweaty citizens. Even the dedicated runners in the parks were finding it difficult to deal with the intense heat.<p>

Rika Nonaka did not like the heat. She was apathetic towards the Sun, but the heat it produced was annoying to her. And today it was particularly unforgivable. She was rudely awoken by the Sun's rays as they hit her sleeping face. She attempted to pry her eyes open only to be blinded by the light. She rubbed her eyes and climbed out of her futon.

She walked over to her drawer of clothes and took out her usual attire. She put on her white lacy underwear first, followed quickly by her blue jeans. She bent down and turned the edges up so they wouldn't completely cover her footwear. She had lost count how many times she'd told her mother to buy jeans that actually fit her, yet time and time again she would buy jeans with a leg size two inches too long. Not that Rika even wanted her mother's assistance in terms of buying clothes, but being a model has the privilege of free clothes, a privilege Rumiko could not resist.

She pulled her tee-shirt over her head and down her upper body. It was a rather tight fit, accentuating her natural womanly curves. The short sleeves were a sky blue colour, with a yellow collar and white for the rest. In the middle was two halves of a broken heart.

'_Ugh, no. The heart just gives boys an excuse to perv on me,' _she thought.

She quickly pulled the top back off and threw it into her rubbish bin. She opened the top drawer before pulling out a plain black top and pulling that one over her head. She looked in the mirror at herself. The black top was also very figure tight, but it had a slimming look. She was grateful, for the bigger her chest grew, the more unwelcome stares she received.

To complete the look she slid her belt through the jeans slots around her waist and tightened the buckle. She picked up a hairband, tied her hair up and slid the band in place. She was ready to face the world.

She headed out of her room and into the kitchen. There she found her grandmother reading a magazine at the table. She reached over and carried her mug of tea to her mouth, took a sip, and then replaced the mug in the exact same position it had been. Her grandmother was very neat like that. The elder woman noticed Rika standing in the doorway and put her magazine down.

"Good morning Rika dear, did you sleep well?" she asked cheerfully.

A nod was all she received as an answer from the teenage girl.

"When is _she_ coming home?" Rika asked with an irked tone.

"If by she you mean your mother, she called late last night while you were gone God only know where," Seiko replied. "She's been asked to stay for a little while. The photographer liked her so much he's asked her to do another shoot for him tomorrow."

"How typical," Rika dryly noted.

"Rika, try to see things from your mother's point of view. This is fantastic for her career," Seiko placated.

Rika folded her arms in defiance and leant the left side of her body up against the door frame. She scowled before replying.

"Her career always comes before her daughter."

"Now that's not fair," Seiko scolded. "Your mother works to keep a roof over our heads."

"Her modelling paid for this home years ago. She could quite comfortably retire if she wanted to. She has enough figures in her bank account for Christ's sake," Rika countered. "She just loves the attention. Normally I wouldn't care, but when she asks me to go to something I don't want to she could at least turn up with me."

She pushed herself off the door frame and walked towards the front door. She slipped her trainers on over her socks and hurriedly tied the laces in a double knot. She fumbled about in her jean's pocket and pulled out her keys.

"Rika, where are you going?"

"Out."

"But Rika, what about…"

The door slammed shut and the younger girl was gone.

"…your breakfast?" Seiko asked exasperated. "Oh dear, I have a feeling she won't let this one go very easily."

* * *

><p>Takato awoke with a start. He threw his duvet off and jumped out of bed. He pulled on a pair of shorts he had carelessly thrown on the chair to his desk a few days ago. He ran his hands through his hair as if to wake it up along with the rest of his body. He felt an urge from his abdominal region.<p>

'_I need to pee.'_

He headed to the bedroom door and turned the handle. He pulled the door open and stepped through the frame. He walked over to the bathroom door and did the same. He lifted the toilet seat up and pulled his shorts down slightly. As he peed he looked in the mirror.

"Ahhhh!" he cried in shock. The stream of urine hastily ceased and he pulled his shorts up before washing his hands in the sink. Then he stood directly in front of the mirror and stared at his body. Or a body at least, he wasn't sure it was his own.

His entire body had bulked up. His shoulders were broader and larger than they had been twenty four hours ago. His biceps and triceps were much more pronounced. Even his forearms had grown muscle! His chest now sported clearly defined pectoral muscles, and a perfect six pack of abdominal muscles. He turned around and looked over his shoulder in the mirror. His back was huge! His lateral muscles appeared to have exploded overnight.

'_Oh my GOD…wait, are my legs the same?'_

He swiftly removed his shorts and threw them to the floor. He gazed down at his legs and noticed bulging thigh muscles along with well-defined calve muscles. Takato's body was now enjoying the benefits of potentially years of hard work in the gym followed up with a strictly healthy diet.

"I am…ripped?"

Even as Takato spoke the words, it didn't seem real. It didn't feel right. He was no bodybuilder. He wasn't the kind of guy who would spend his free time pumping iron in a gym. He didn't even really play sports. He had very little fat, and yet even less muscle. He had a very poor diet high in carbohydrates and fats. He was skinny. Or, at least he used to be. Not any longer though.

"This is seriously weird…why is this happening to me?" Takato asked.

There was nobody around, yet he asked out loud anyway.

"Dear white ball of light. If you can talk, please let me know. I have a lot of questions and I could do with some answers, so you know…say something?"

He paused. He tapped his fingers on the ceramic edge of the sink, waiting for a voice to speak, a voice that the sane part of his mind knew would never come. He closed his eyes as if in prayer. In a hopeless attempt to switch his body back he raised his right hand and clicked his fingers. He waited a few seconds. Suddenly he felt his hand becoming very warm and he opened his right eye out of curiosity.

"SHIT!" he exclaimed. "My hand is on FIRE!"

Sure as his words his hand was indeed on fire. It wasn't burning his skin, yet his hand was covered in small flames. He waved his arm in an attempt to put the flames out, only to succeed in throwing the flame into the sink. He frantically turned the tap and breathed a sigh of relief as the flame was put out by the flow of water.

He anxiously studied his hand. There were no visible marks from the flames, only a slight trail of smoke coming from his palm. It wasn't painful; in fact it had not hurt Takato at all. However it was still quite a shock to see his hand literally on fire. Takato cautiously looked at his left hand and clicked his fingers. This time he was prepared for the flames that quickly engulfed his palm. He clicked his fingers on his right hand too, and looked from hand to hand.

Two palms on fire. HIS two palms were on fire. And it didn't burn him. He slowly closed his fingers over his palms and the fires were extinguished. He curled out his fingers, and again his palms were as healthy as the day they were born.

It was amazing. Takato couldn't decide whether he was ecstatic or terrified! That crazy little ball of light had completely changed his body. The day before he was weak, skinny and most definitely not fire-proof. Today he was incredibly strong with a body that showed his strength, and fireproof skin!

'_Wow. As awesome as this all is, I should probably get myself checked out by a doctor. It's still pretty early, I'm sure he'll be able to fit me in before lunch time if I hurry!'_

He quickly picked up a can of deodorant, sprayed himself, set it back down on the counter and headed towards his bedroom to get dressed.

* * *

><p>Henry put his cereal bowl in the kitchen sink and after licking the last drop of milk off the spoon, placed it in the bowl. There was a chink sound as the metal made contact with the bowl. The blue haired boy walked out of the kitchen and into the lounge area. He lowered himself onto the sofa and picked up the television remote. He flicked through the channels until he found the one he was looking for. He placed the remote down on the empty seat beside him and focused on the screen.<p>

"…And finally this morning we bring you a rather strange news item. In the early hours of this morning emergency services in Shinjuku received a phone call requesting an ambulance outside a local computer store. When the paramedics arrived, they found an unconscious man lying in the road, and upon further investigation it was discovered that he sustained a broken wrist. Police were informed and they have released this CCTV tape to the media. Take a look…"

Henry leant forward in his seat, intrigued at the footage to come.

"…The young man in the video with his back to the camera can be seen walking peacefully along until he is suddenly confronted by a larger hooded attacker who pins him to the wall…"

Henry stroked his chin and paid close attention to the video.

"…The hooded man raises what police have told us to be a crowbar, at the pinned man when suddenly the smaller man appears to twist the wrist of his attacker who recoils back away…"

Henry raised his eyebrows in surprise. He certainly hadn't expected anything like that from the smaller man.

"…He charges again with a wild attack. It is at this point the tables are turned as the younger man dodges the violent swing and hits back with an amazing show of strength against the much larger man…"

'_Whoa…he is seriously strong!'_

"…The attacker is suddenly the victim as he lies unconscious in the road. Unfortunately due to the fixed camera angle we can't show what happens as the man approaches his attacker, but the police have confirmed that a phone call to the emergency services was made approximately thirty seconds after they disappear off camera," the reporter concludes. "Now we've been getting emails and texts in all morning about this, and since it was uploaded four hours ago on YouTube, this footage has been seen over ten thousand times! Very popular indeed, and there has been lots of support being shown for the small guy with the big punch!"

'_I'm not surprised it's so popular. It's great to see somebody standing up for themselves in this city these days. I'm not sure I'd have done the same if I'm honest. This city really has gone downhill recently!'_ Henry thought broodily. _'I hope things improve soon. This place could be really special if crime level weren't so high.'_

* * *

><p>Takato weaved his way through the busy streets of West Shinjuku. He wished his local doctor was a tad more local than it actually was. Either that or he wished he could drive. Looking at the lines of endless traffic he reconsidered that last wish.<p>

He received a text on his phone. He took out the small device and opened the message.

_Hey Takato, when you get a minute, check out the news. They showed some CCTV of some big guy getting his ass kicked by a much smaller guy just last night in Shinjuku! I have a feeling you're going to want to see it. Henry_

'_Aw crap. I'm on the news. Well, at least the video can't be great quality otherwise Henry would've recognised me for sure!' _He thought as he drifted to the edge of the walkway to avoid a group of people coming his way, and came across a very surprising sight.

"Ugh, seriously? You're giving me a parking fine? I was in the shop for about two minutes and your stupid ticket machine is broken!"

'_It's that girl from last night!'_ Takato thought, his eyes wide open with shock. He stopped walking and watched the redhead as she argued with what appeared to be a traffic warden next to the silver BMW Takato recognised as the car he miraculously jumped over the night before.

He stared at her flawless face and noted her beautiful purple eyes and perfectly formed teeth. She had nice looking lips, not too big or too small. Takato's eyes followed her body down, and he admired her very attractive body. His eyes gazed over her slim legs, then her womanly hips and up to her breasts…

"Pervert," he heard someone mutter as they passed him in the street.

He felt his cheeks burn and rubbed his eyes in an attempt to cover the red patches of skin.

'_Wait, what if she recognises me? If she saw my face and watches the news, she might put two and two together! _Takato thought to himself worriedly. _'I have to find out somehow…'_

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but you're parked here without a valid parking ticket. You can pay the fine right here now or I'm afraid we will be left with no choice but to clamp and tow your vehicle, and you'll have to come and collect it at our compound in East Shinjuku," the traffic warden explained.

"East Shinjuku? And how the hell am I supposed to get there? I won't have my car, remember genius?"

"I'm sorry ma'am but if you want to keep your car you'll have to pay the fine of eight thousand yen."

The redhead pulled out some money from her pocket, counted it quickly and scowled in disappointment.

"I don't have eight thousand yen on me, and I don't have a credit card to get some money."

"Then I'm sorry ma'am, we're left with no choice."

A light seemed to turn on in Takato's head. He smiled to himself, took a deep breath and walked over to the young woman and the traffic warden. He received two very strange looks before giving a nervous smile.

"Uh, I-I'll pay the fine," he said quietly.

"Hey! Do I look poor to you? I don't need your charity!" Rika yelled.

"Well uh…you do want your car right?"

"Yes."

"Good!" Takato smiled. "Here's your eight thousand yen!"

He handed the money over to the traffic warden. He counted it and placed it in a plastic envelope which he slotted into his satchel.

"Great, you're free to go ma'am. I'll call the tow truck and tell them they're not needed. Have a good day," he said merrily before leaving Rika and Takato alone.

Rika glowered at the young man in front of her. She looked him up and down for a few seconds.

"Do I know you or something?" she inquired.

'_Oh good, she doesn't recognise me.'_

"Uh no, I-I'm just a…good citizen?" he replied unconvincingly. He half smiled at her nervously, hoping she would be satisfied with his poor answer.

"Whatever. I don't like accepting people's charity, so this is what we're going to do," Rika began. "You're going to get in my car, we're going to go to my home, I will get you your money and you will leave. Understood?"

Takato raised his eyebrows at the girl, who responded with an even deeper glare. He didn't think turning the offer down would do him any favours with the fiery redhead.

"Uh…I guess so," he said. He had long forgotten about going to the doctor about his unique situation.

"Good. Get in," she ordered.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So here we are with another chapter! I hope everyone enjoyed it. It didn't go exactly the way I'd planned it, but in fact I think it was better than the original plan I had for this chapter. So we have another power for Takato to wonder about. We had a little bit of Henry in there. And we had a proper meeting between Rika and Takato.

I hope you've all enjoyed this chapter. If you have, let me know! If not, tell me why! Any constructive criticism is welcome, and I'll respond to all reviews I get. Reviews inspire me to write, so please keep them coming!


	4. Gogglehead

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Digimon, any of its characters or its ideas. This is a non-profit work of fiction written purely for entertainment purposes.

**CHAOS**

By TheApex

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER THREE<strong>

Gogglehead

* * *

><p>The drive to Rika's home seemed to last a lot longer than it did in reality. Takato felt very uncomfortable in the passenger's seat next to the fiery redhead, who did not seem interested in any type of conversation what so ever. He would steal an occasional glimpse at the girl, which only seemed to deepen her glare. He wondered how she managed to spot him looking at her every time while keeping her eyes on the road, but he decided against asking her outright. Even with his newfound strength, he had his doubts about whether or not he could defend himself against Rika.<p>

More than once he found himself subconsciously clutching his seat belt with both hands. He hadn't discovered much about Rika, but he had come to the conclusion that she was a very aggressive driver. Or she did a very good impression of one as she slammed her foot down on the pedals and stopped within mere inches of the car in front when they encountered traffic.

"You're getting very close to hitting that car in front," he said cautiously. "Do you have an issue with people who drive Audis?"

"I know what I'm doing," she replied, ignoring his attempt at a joke to lighten the mood.

"I'm sure you do…uh…" he paused. "What's your name?"

"Rika."

"Nice to meet you, Rika," Takato said. "I'm Takato."

"That's nice," came the monotone reply.

Another pause. Takato ran a finger along the dashboard, feeling the grooves and bumps of the aesthetic pattern along it. He then placed both hands on it, and began to tap his fingers down on the plastic surface. Rika grimaced at the action.

"Stop that," she ordered.

"Stop what?" Takato asked.

"That."

"Huh?"

"The damn tapping! Stop tapping my car!"

"Oh…sorry."

Rika turned the steering wheel and pulled in to the side of a one story building Takato guessed was her home. She turned the key, killing the engine, and unbuckled her seat belt.

"You can wait by the door. I'll go in, get your money and the second it leaves my hand and goes into yours, I'm shutting the door. You got that?"

"Uh, sure?" Takato said, unbuckling his seat belt.

Rika didn't bother replying. Instead she opened the car door, got out and slammed it shut again. Takato followed suit, except he was considerably gentler as he closed the car door. Rika pressed the lock button on the car key and the car beeped in acknowledgment. She walked over to her house door and opened the lock. She pushed the door open to a ninety degree angle and walked inside.

Takato stepped into the door frame, careful not to enter the house but enough to satisfy his curiosity. The Nonaka home was beautiful. It was all on ground level, with a wooden platform all the way around the building. The garden was vast and very green. In the centre of the garden was a long pond surrounded by large strategically placed stones, with a small bridge connecting each side of it in the middle. It was certainly a lot nicer than Takato's apartment.

"Oh hello there, are you one of Rika's friends?"

Takato turned to face the source of the voice. He saw a woman standing there, smiling at him. He guessed she was in her late fifties or early sixties judging by her aged face and wrinkled hands. She wore a long yellow dress that covered her from neck to ankle, with a pair of white sandals on her feet.

"Hi, nice to meet you," Takato began, smiling. "I'm Takato."

"Very nice to meet you Takato. I'm Rika's grandmother, but you can call me Seiko," she replied. "Rika never brings her friend's home, you must be a special one!"

"Well, uh, I'm not exactly a friend of hers to be honest…" he said, blushing slightly at the suggestion of a special friendship.

"Hmm, how do you know my granddaughter?" Seiko probed.

"It all started in the street. I was walking along and I saw Rika arguing with a traffic warden over a fine she was about to get. She didn't have the money to pay it so I offered to do it for her. She insisted on paying me back and I guess that's how I ended up here."

Rika walked out of her room and towards the waiting boy she left on her doorstep. As she got closer, she noticed her grandmother was standing there talking to him.

'_Oh no, please don't tell her what happened. Just take your money and go away!'_ she thought to herself.

"Here's your money," she said, handing over the notes. "You can leave now."

"Rika Nonaka!" her grandmother reprimanded. "That is not how we treat our guests. Young Takato here was extremely kind to you today, and you should be very grateful he was around to help you."

Rika rolled her eyes and huffed in annoyance as Takato scratched the back of his head uncomfortably.

"Takato, do you have somewhere you need to be today?" Seiko asked.

Rika glared at the brown haired boy threateningly. She knew what her grandmother was going to do next, and it was definitely not what she wanted. Takato raised his eyebrows at the glare, but didn't quite understand the meaning behind it, much to Rika's dismay.

"Uh, no I'm free today," he answered.

"Excellent!" Seiko cheerily replied. "You must stay a while, for a cup of tea at least. If my granddaughter can't show how appreciative of your gesture she is then I shall show my appreciation. And there's no use arguing, I won't take no for an answer!"

Takato felt the heat drain from his face as he saw Rika's fists clench in defeat. He slowly inched forward inside the grounds, and braced himself as he noticed Rika was heading towards him. He thought he was in for a pounding, but surprisingly she walked right past him, instead choosing to slam the door shut as an alternative to hitting her guest.

"The kitchen is the first door on your left," Rika said through clenched teeth.

* * *

><p>A grey haired man walked along the deserted residential road he lived on in South Shinjuku. He appeared to be in his fifties, and he wore a dark blue jumper with some black chinos. He was glad his journey was nearly over, for he had been struggling with the groceries he had been carrying home from the local shop. He didn't go out much anymore, so he always stocked up when he did venture out.<p>

He turned into a gate and walked up to the door. He unlocked it and stepped inside, wiping his shoes on the welcome mat as he always did, before shutting the door behind him. He walked through the hallway into the kitchen and set the bags down on the floor with a sigh of relief. He pulled his jumper off and hung it on the back of a dining chair, and then he walked out of the kitchen and headed towards his living room.

'_What? I am sure I closed that door before I went out…I never leave the doors open…'_

He stepped inside, and jumped as he noticed a figure sitting in his armchair. The strange figure looked rather large as he sat in the small chair, his broad shoulders stretching to cover the entire width of the chair, and his feet placed a fair distance from the chair itself.

"At last, I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to show up old man."

* * *

><p>"So Takato, tell us a bit about yourself," Seiko pleasantly suggested.<p>

Takato took a quick sip of tea before placing the mug down on the table. He managed to catch Rika glaring at him as she sat opposite, her facial expression fiercer than he thought was possible. Seiko sat to his left at the end of the table.

"Uh…well, I'm eighteen years old. In fact, I just graduated yesterday."

"Rika graduated last night too! Although, graduation is a bit of a sore topic at the moment," she said, glancing at Rika. "Where do you live?"

"I live in the new apartment block in West Shinjuku, about five minutes away from the park."

"Ah yes, I know the one! I read about that block in the newspaper, very modern. They are very small though, how do you and your parents cope with only one bedroom?"

Takato's face dropped, and he looked down into his mug of tea. He clasped his hands together on the table and took a deep breath before replying.

"My parents are dead. I live alone."

'_Damn it!' _Rika thought, feeling her conscience creep into her mind. _'Why did I have to be mean? Now I just feel guilty.'_

"I'm sorry to hear that," Seiko said apologetically.

"It's fine," Takato said abruptly. "You make a lovely tea Mrs Nonaka."

"It's Ms Hata, but please call me Seiko," she replied softly. "Rika, why don't you take Takato to your room? You can play some PlayBox or whatever those contraptions are called."

Takato expected another moan from the girl, or some form of defiance, but to his surprise she didn't say anything. Instead she simply stood up and walked towards the hallway. Realising she wasn't being followed, she turned around and looked at Takato.

"Well I'm not going to drag you. You have a perfectly good pair of legs, use them."

He obeyed the order by picking himself up and following the girl's footsteps as she guided him towards her bedroom three rooms down the hall.

'_I really do hope they get along. Takato seems like a nice young man, and I think having a friend like him would do Rika the world of good,' _Seiko thought to herself, smiling at the idea.

* * *

><p>"Who are you and what do you want?" the old man asked, failing to mask the intimidation in his tone.<p>

"Oh you don't remember me?" the man asked. "I suppose it has been a long time. Ten years in fact. Ten years since my sister and I ran away from you."

The old man's eyes widened slightly in acknowledgement. He had not expected to ever see the younger man again after all these years. He breathed a sigh of relief and felt himself relax.

"Daniel? What the hell are you doing here boy? You don't live here anymore, how did you get in?"

The young man laughed.

"You know, old age doesn't suit you at all," he noted. "There was a time when you used to terrify me."

"I may be old but I can still give you a beating boy."

"I bet you'd love that, wouldn't you?" Daniel taunted. "You never could quite get enough of beating me. When you weren't beating my sister of course. Aren't you interested in what happened to Sarah?"

The older man snorted. He'd hated those bloody English orphans. He remembered the countless times he'd wished he'd never allowed his wife to talk him into adopting children.

"Enlighten me."

"She's dead," Daniel stated. "Which brings me to the reason for my little visit."

"What are you talking about now boy? Her dying ain't got anything to do with me."

"I disagree," he countered. "I strongly disagree. It all started with you, old man. You are the reason she ended up dead, and you are the reason I am here with you today. You set us on this path, and I hold you at least partially responsible for it all."

"Oh yeah? Well what are you going to do about it?" the old man smirked. "You never did have the balls to stand up to me, you whiny little bitch. Get the fuck out of my house!"

The younger man leapt out of the armchair speedily and thrust a hand towards the old man's throat. He gripped it tight and lifted the older man clean off the ground before slamming him into the wall with such force that several picture frames fell off and smashed on the ground. The old man let out a whimper of pain, which only served to satisfy Daniel

"I am going to make you pay for your part in all this old man. I'm going to make you understand how guilty you are. And then I am going to kill you."

* * *

><p>Rika's room was fairly large, bigger than Takato's room by quite a bit. There was a desk to the side, with an open laptop sitting on it and surrounded by various bits of paper and odd bits and pieces. Towards the other side of the room was her futon, which lay in front of Rika's clothes drawer. In the corner was a smaller desk which propped up a widescreen television and a PlayStation console.<p>

Takato cautiously edged towards the desk, careful to keep an eye on Rika in case she disapproved. She seemed to ignore him as he did so, either that or she didn't care where he went. He looked closely over her desk, and noted a novel, a yoyo, some papers covered in science work, some chocolate wrappers, a pair of yellow rimmed goggles and a big stack of Digimon cards.

"You like Digimon?" he asked.

Rika was surprised at the question. She thought most people had forgotten about the old card game she used to play when she was a pre-teen. She gradually stopped playing the game when she reached the age of fourteen. By then she'd already won the Digimon Card Tournament in Tokyo four years running, and the lack of any decent opposition bored her. That, and she disliked the infamous title she was branded with; the Digimon Queen. She still liked to play by herself every now and then though.

"I used to," she said. "Nobody could beat me though. I was already the best so I didn't see any point in continuing to play."

"I'll play you," Takato offered.

He picked up the goggles on the desk. He placed the elasticated band around the back of his neck and positioned the goggles on his forehead, smiling as childhood memories of the Digimon television show came back to him.

"Are you brave enough to challenge me?" Rika smirked.

"You bet. While I'm wearing these goggles, I'm as strong as Tai Kamiya himself!"

"Fine, I accept your challenge," Rika said. "But don't cry when you lose, Gogglehead."

* * *

><p>"After your wife's death, the endless beatings you gave us became too much," Daniel explained. "Sarah couldn't take it anymore. She begged me to take her away, but we were only teenagers, we couldn't survive on the streets. I was sixteen years old, and she was only thirteen. I tried to help her through it…"<p>

An expression of pure rage took over Daniel's face like a disease. His face contorted, even his eye's natural green colour seemed to burn with anger and bloodlust. His teeth were bared and gritted as if ready to strike.

"…But in the end I realised I had no choice. So we ran, forced out of our home by you. We tried to survive on the streets alone, with no money, no food and no help. Nobody would employ us, and there was no support from any agencies or any government backed projects for us to turn to. So eventually we turned to crime…"

He took a deep breath and tightened his grip on the old man's throat.

"…That worked, for a year at least. We just about got by. Until one day I was arrested robbing a grocery store with a knife. With no money to make bail or to pay for decent legal representation, I was sentenced to six years in prison. Six whole years. Sarah was sent to a children's home after the trial, but it wasn't long before she ran away again. You destroyed any trust she had left in people, except for me. Only I wasn't around this time. So she tried to survive on her own, until one night five years ago when she was killed in a street fight with some drug addict…"

A tear ran down Daniel's cheek, the cold droplet sending shivers throughout his body.

"…I wasn't even allowed to go to her funeral. Apparently I was considered too dangerous at the time. I still had two years left on my sentence. But now I'm out, and I've come to set things right. You started all this for us. You are largely responsible for what happened to both of us, and I swear to you, you will pay for it!"

He raised his free hand and clicked his fingers. A small ball of electricity formed in his hand, crackling away yet not harming the palm it rested on. Daniel smiled.

"What was it you used to say to me?" Daniel asked. "Oh that's right. You said 'you won't get any mercy from me, so take it like a man.' You said those words every single time you raised your belt at me, without fail. So I think it's only fair I give you the same treatment."

The old man's eyes widened in terror. His entire body shook with fear and adrenalin. He tried to break free, but Daniel's grip was far too strong. The ball of electricity grew larger, the crackling louder and the light it emitted ever brighter.

"I will not give you any mercy, so die like a man!"

* * *

><p>"Taomon Digivolves to Sakuyamon and you lose again Gogglehead!" Rika announced triumphantly.<p>

"Aw man, not again!" Takato exclaimed in disbelief.

"Ha! Not so strong now, are you?" Rika taunted.

She had now beaten Takato fifteen times in a row. He really wasn't the challenge she was hoping for, but his reactions to losing were priceless. Every time he thought he had the upper hand, Rika would play a card that would completely flip the game around, and before he knew what was happening he had lost again. Unexpectedly she found herself actually enjoying the time she was spending with the despairing boy.

Takato on the other hand, was not enjoying himself so much. He was baffled at how he kept losing. He never was a really good player when he used to play at school, but he couldn't remember being _this_ bad at the game. He sighed in defeat and spilled his remaining cards onto the floor. He took the goggles off and held them out towards Rika.

"Okay, you win. Again. You deserve the goggles more than I do!"

"Well I don't want them," she insisted. "From what I remember of the show, goggleheads are stupid."

"Hey, Tai and Davis were both brave Digimon tamers!" Takato defended.

"Some might say you're brave seeing as you've lasted this long in my home without being beaten. Or stupid," Rika countered. "So you really are a Gogglehead. Wear the goggles with shame."

Takato couldn't tell whether she was joking with him or not, so he obliged and placed the goggles back on his head. From what he could tell, she seemed to be warming up to him, but he wouldn't go as far as to say she liked him. She was still brutal, only more with her cards than her words as they played. He was about to ask her if she thought they could be friends, but stopped himself. Thinking about it he realised it was a stupid and very awkward question to ask, and the answer would probably be no. All they had in common so far was a like of Digimon. He had to get to know her better first.

"So, if I go home tonight and practice, can I challenge you again tomorrow?"

Rika stared at him, one eyebrow raised suspiciously. She looked him intensely in the eyes, as if she could somehow see through to his thought processes and his motives.

"Why?"

"W-why what?"

"Why do you want to challenge me again?" she asked plainly.

"Uh…'cause it'll be fun? I thought that maybe we could…you know…become friends?"

'_Aw man, seriously? So much for avoiding the friendship issue!' _he thought to himself.

"I'm not fun, and I don't need a new friend," she stated coldly.

Takato felt a bead of sweat drift down the side of his face. He was shocked at Rika's reaction to the mention of friendship. He hadn't expected it to go down well with the redhead, but neither had he expected it to go down that badly. There was no doubt about it; Rika Nonaka was a very complicated girl. But he wasn't the type to give up.

"This last hour has been fun," he said with a half-smile. "And what's wrong with being friends?"

"I don't need any friends. I've survived this long just fine on my own. Friends only let you down, sooner or later."

"Uh…okay…" Takato replied quietly. "I guess we don't have to be friends…but I was thinking about getting back into Digimon anyway and well…who better to play with than the best player in Tokyo?"

Takato was lying through his teeth. In truth he hadn't thought about getting back into Digimon at all. He'd never really grown out of it, but he hoped that by saying he was getting back into it, she might think he could improve and be more of a challenge, and if she thought that he hoped she would be more likely to accept. He added a sneaky bit of flattery on the end too, although he doubted it would work to his advantage. He certainly wasn't renowned for his charming ways.

"Okay fine, anything to get you to shut up about it," Rika conceded. "But we're not friends, got it?"

"Absolutely!" Takato said, a little happier than he meant.

'_There's something about this girl. She seems lonely, like me. She reminds me of myself really, after my parents died. I think she lost someone close to her at some point, and that's why she acts the way she does. I don't know what I'd have done without Henry to keep me from sinking into depression. I really needed a great friend, and I think Rika does too. So I guess I'll do my best to be a friend to her. What's the worst that can happen?'_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Quite a bit more Rika and Takato for you, although it didn't all go as smoothly as Takato may have hoped! I tried to keep them as in character as possible. I like how Rika seems to get lost in the card game, but as soon as friendship is mentioned she clams up again. Poor Takato.

And not only that but we have an introduction to a new character; Daniel. I am English so I thought I'd use an English character, haha. I hope that's not a problem. As you've probably gathered, he has powers similar to Takato. Similar powers but wildly different personalities and motives. Let me know what you think of him/his backstory!

As always, please do review! I love to know what you think, what you liked, what you didn't like, and what you think can be improved! I always answer reviews personally, so if you have any questions stick them in a review and I'll be happy to answer those too. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	5. Encounters

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Digimon, any of its characters or its ideas. This is a non-profit work of fiction written purely for entertainment purposes.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAOS<strong>

By TheApex

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER FOUR<strong>

Encounters

* * *

><p>Takato had left Rika's home by two o'clock, having spent a few hours getting to know the redheaded girl. Or rather, being beaten by her at the Digimon card game and having his motives questioned. However, Takato was a rather insightful young man, even if his sometimes apparent awkwardness would suggest otherwise. His encounter with Rika Nonaka had taught him a lot about the kind of person she was.<p>

There was no doubting her strength, both in physical and mental terms. She came across as quite a cold person with a short fuse, however her insecurities suggested to Takato that deep down that wasn't exactly who Rika Nonaka was. He planned to coax out the hidden side of Rika, a task which he thought would prove to be a long and potentially painful one considering her temper. He was surprised he left the house unscathed!

He knew the wiser course of action would have been to avoid the girl after getting his money and focus on the more pressing issues in his life, the main issue being his newfound 'body upgrade' as his mind put it. He had confirmed that she couldn't identify him as the person who jumped over her car so even if she saw the news report about him she couldn't name him to anyone. Yet he found himself still strangely connected to her. Perhaps it was his caring personality, or his own loneliness that caused him to ask to see her again, he didn't know.

What he did know was he could not ignore his new body, and he decided to take himself for a test run so to speak. Questions ran through his mind. How strong was he exactly? How high could he jump? Did he have increased stamina? Just what could he do with his fire based ability? Why did he have these powers? Was he expected to use them for a particular purpose? Was he a 'chosen one' of some sort?

He did not expect to get any answers for the latter three more philosophical questions, yet he could try to get some answers for the first four questions he had. All he had to do was go out and push himself. But, first he had to disguise himself. He couldn't risk being spotted by anyone at all. After his parents' murder his picture had been plastered all over every major media outlet in Japan, and although he wasn't generally recognised by the public after nearly three years, he was sure they'd begin to remember if they spotted him jumping all over the rooftops of West Shinjuku for example.

When he arrived from Rika's house he looked at the time. It was still only thirty two minutes past two. He had plenty of time, but unfortunately it was still light out and would be for quite a few hours yet, so he knew he needed to be covered from head to toe.

He walked into his bedroom and pulled out a chest from under his bed. He flipped the lock open and pulled the top off it. He reached in and fumbled about, looking for a few items in particular. As he did so, various old toys and gadgets fell out onto the floor around him. He pulled out two red shin pads he had used a few years ago to play sports at school and placed them carefully to the side of the chest before diving his hands back in. He then pulled out a red knee pad and a red elbow pad and placed them both next to the shin pads. He put his hands back in the chest once more and found the other knee and elbow pad.

'_Perfect,'_ he thought to himself. _'These pads should provide enough protection for me if I jump really high and land badly.'_

He quickly put all the fallen items back in the chest, placed the top on it and locked it before sliding it back under his bed. He pulled his trainers off, followed by his jumper and his shorts which he tossed onto his bed. He walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a pair of black jeans and a black hoody. He slotted his legs into the jeans and zipped them up, and then he pulled the hoody on. He slipped his feet back into the trainers and tied the laces up tight in a double knot. He then proceeded to tighten the shin pads around his lower limbs, along with the knee and elbow pads around their corresponding body parts. He pulled a pair of black leather gloves out of the drawer in his desk and slipped them on.

He walked into the bathroom and looked at himself in the big wall length mirror. He had to admit, he looked pretty good. The red pads were very well pronounced against his black clothes. He was glad he had bought all the pads in a set when he had done. They were all a plain but matching crimson colour with adjustable straps so they fit well even with his increased muscle mass. However, he was missing one final touch; something to cover his face.

He walked out of the bathroom and back into the bedroom. He pulled down a large cardboard box off his wardrobe and placed it down on the bed. Printed in permanent marker read the words 'HOLIDAY STUFF'. Takato pulled the flaps of the box open and rummaged inside. He pulled out a plain black ski mask his father had used many years before on a skiing holiday he'd been on with his mother when they were in their early twenties. The ski mask reminded Takato of the man who had attacked him after his graduation party, yet he quickly cast the thought aside. The events of that night were no longer relevant.

Takato pulled the mask over his head to test that it fit his head, which it did. He could see perfectly through the eye slots, and the slight mouth slot provided enough room to breathe comfortably. He pulled the mask off and stuffed it in his jeans pocket. He didn't want anyone to see him as he left his apartment, as he was sure the ski mask would scare his neighbours if they were to be entering or leaving their own apartments as he was leaving. At least if they saw him wearing the various body pads he could make a story up about taking up rollerblading or something similar.

He opened his front door and poked his head out, checking the hallway, which he found to be clear. He quickly slid through the doorway and locked his front door. He then headed towards the stairs, ignoring the elevator. Unfortunately for him, the elevator didn't go exactly where he wanted to go; the roof. It wasn't a particularly tall building by Tokyo's standards at eight stories high, but it was in a densely populated area surrounded by lots of other similarly sized buildings. The perfect place to test his jumping ability.

'_Alright, let's give this a shot,' _he thought to himself, pulling the ski mask on as he reached the roof. _'Please don't fall!'_

* * *

><p>Daniel walked over to a wall in his apartment. On the wall were several pictures, each of which surrounded by maps and papers with walls of text. It looked very much like a police investigation with a number of prime suspects, although Daniel was far from being a police officer.<p>

He picked up a permanent marker off the desk and pulled the lid off before attaching it to the bottom of the marker. His hand hovered over the first portrait, which showed the recently deceased old man Daniel had visited. He pressed the pen to the picture and drew a big cross through the face. He then put the lid back on the marker and tossed it on the desk.

He exhaled deeply and crossed his arms over his chest. The first phase had been executed perfectly, much as he'd expected. The old man was never going to be a challenge for him, yet it was a good place to start. Daniel was a very logical man, and he planned to visit each of his targets chronologically. From where everything began with the old man, to the end.

"One down," he said to himself. "And the rest will fall like dominoes."

* * *

><p>A man stepped into an elevator in a residential apartment block in West Shinjuku. He was wearing a very neat and tidy black suit, with a dark grey shirt underneath and completed by a dark purple tie. His shoes were jet black and shiny, as if only a day out of the box. His hair was shaggy and a bright blonde tone and his eyes were covered by a pair of black sunglasses. In his right hand he carried a plain grey briefcase full of various documents and general papers.<p>

He pressed the button to take him to the fifth floor, and the elevator doors shut. In his left hand he flicked the top of a zippo lighter open and shut repeatedly as the elevator slowly rose up to his destination. The doors opened and he began walking towards a particular apartment. He stopped outside a door, slid the lighter in his pocket and knocked on the door twice.

He pushed his left hand sleeve out of the way with his right index finger, exposing his watch which he glanced at briefly just before the door opened. In the doorway stood a young blue haired man, looking slightly puzzled at the older man stood in front of him.

"Can I help you?" he asked.

"I'm looking for a Mr Henry Wong," the blonde man said with a deep voice.

"That's me," Henry replied. "Who are you?"

"My name is Mitsuo Yamaki," the man said, raising an ID card as proof. "May I come in?"

Henry moved to the side, holding the door open invitingly. Yamaki stepped inside and proceeded towards the sofa.

"May I?" he asked politely.

"Sure," Henry said, taking a seat in the chair opposite. "What's this all about?"

Yamaki sat down and placed his briefcase carefully on top of the coffee table. He took his glasses off, revealing a pair of intense deep blue eyes, and placed the glasses in his right pocket.

"First of all Mr Wong I'd like to assure you that you're not in any trouble. I work for the Japanese government, and I've come here today because I'd like to discuss a proposition I have for you."

"A proposition?" Henry probed.

"Earlier this year you applied for a summer internship in the IT department at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building, correct?"

"Yes, that's true," Henry said. "I found out a few days ago that I was unsuccessful for some strange reason."

"Actually Mr Wong you were successful. Your application was outstanding and your experience in software programming was extensive. Far beyond that of other applicants. No doubt having a programmer for a father helped you out quite a bit," Yamaki explained. "You were most certainly successful, but I had your application rejected."

"What?" Henry exclaimed. "Why?"

"Your talents would have been wasted completing boring, menial tasks for the monkeys in the IT department. It would have been a personal embarrassment for me to allow that to happen," Yamaki said passionately. "I have a better offer for you, Henry. An offer which will challenge you, and which will give you the chance to serve your country."

"What kind of offer?" Henry asked suspiciously.

"A job offer," Yamaki said with a slight smile. "What I'm about to tell you is strictly top secret. You cannot repeat any of this information to anybody, do you understand?"

"Yes."

"Good. This is going to be a lot to take in so I'll give you the basics. I've built a new system designed to monitor communications on a global scale. We call it Hypnos. It's a very complicated system, and it deals with issues which some…older minds would struggle to comprehend. Recently we've been picking up digital matter forming in various places in our city. Now, what I need is a young and capable mind to work with me using Hypnos so we can track these things down and study them. I would like that person to be you."

"Wait, let me get this straight. You think that digital data is somehow forming real…things…in the real world?"

"We don't think it, we know it."

"That is ridiculous," Henry stated. "There's no way data can present itself outside of computer software."

"I'll prove it to you," Yamaki offered. "Come with me and you can see the Hypnos system in action, and I'll show you concrete proof of digital 'bioemergences' into the real world. And then you can decide whether or not you want to work for Hypnos."

* * *

><p>After Takato had left, Rika felt surprisingly happy. It was a strange feeling for her to feel after meeting a new person, as she usually felt nothing towards them. New people didn't really interest her, and they usually didn't try hard to connect with her after the first five minutes of her cold attitude. But Takato had been different. He tried relentlessly despite not originally getting anywhere. She had to admit, she liked his never-give-up attitude. She had not expected that sort of thing from a shy and nervous boy like him.<p>

She had agreed to meet him again tomorrow. They had arranged for him to come back to her home, but shortly after he'd left Rika had changed her mind. She really didn't want to encourage her grandmother, and so she decided the best thing would be for the two of them to go out and do something away from prying ears and eyes. Seiko was bad enough as it is without being privy to everything that the two teenagers were doing.

And just as Rika thought she'd solved that problem, another presented itself. After paying Takato the money he'd used to pay for her parking fine, Rika realised she was now effectively broke. No doubt the boy would offer to pay for anything they did that required money, but she was not in the habit of letting others pay for her, as he had experienced earlier. No, she needed money of her own.

She approached her grandmother quietly as she stepped into the kitchen area. Seiko was indulging in another cup of tea, reading a local newspaper. She heard the soft footsteps approach, and she folded the newspaper up before placing it down flat in her lap.

"Yes dear?" she asked.

"Can I borrow some money for tomorrow?" Rika asked. "I'll pay you back later! It's just that I had to pay Gog- Takato back for the fine, and now I have barely anything left."

"Why, what are you doing tomorrow?"

"I'm seeing him again," Rika said quickly. "I had to agree, he's very persistent. At one point I thought he might never leave if I didn't agree to it!"

She knew it wasn't quite the exact truth, but she didn't want her grandmother to know that she wanted to see the boy again either. If Seiko knew that, she'd tell her mother over the phone and Rumiko would have the wedding planned before she even arrived home from her little business trip.

"Ah, excellent!" Seiko said happily. "Of course you may Rika dear. Take whatever you need from my purse."

The older woman looked on cheerfully as Rika nodded her head in acknowledgement and proceeded to pick up the leather purse from its spot on the kitchen table. She unzipped the purse and opened it up, sliding her hand into the different divisions and pulling out some notes. She zipped it back up and placed it carefully back in its place.

"Thank you," Rika said.

"You're most welcome dear. Have fun tomorrow!"

* * *

><p>It had been well over four hours since Takato had left home to try out his newfound abilities. He had jumped from rooftop to rooftop, losing himself in the residential areas of West Shinjuku. He knew the area well, from the ground that was. Seeing everything up so high was much different, and he suddenly felt as if he needed to relearn his hometown from the skies. There were no street signs or familiar shops up this high to guide him. There were only rooftops of varying heights.<p>

He had jumped up high to reach them, and had dropped low to land on them. The first time he landed awkwardly, sort of half attempting to land and go into a forward roll in one smooth and graceful movement. It had turned out very ungraceful and very unsmooth, as his technique was bad, and he ended up rolling over his side rather than his head. It was for this exact reason that he was so glad he had worn the protective pads, although he would need to remind himself to invest in some shoulder pads too.

At one point during his little adventure, he found himself on top of an abandoned building, which he had entered via a broken hole in the roof. He dropped down into the dark, damp building fairly gracefully. It was here that he'd decided to test his strength and fire abilities. He punched a wall gently, testing it out. He then punched it repeatedly, increasing his strength each time with alternating fists. Eventually he managed to punch his way through, and his fists didn't hurt. He could actually punch through bricks!

He punched through several walls and doors, the ones that were still on their hinges that is, and he made his way down the building floor by floor doing so. When he had gone down two floors, he decided to test out his pyro ability. He formed a ball of fire in his hand at first, and cautiously threw it at some old curtains, which unsurprisingly burst into flames. Not wanting to draw attention to the building and his presence in it, he quickly patted the flames out and moved away from the windows.

He threw fire balls at the walls for the rest of the time he spent there, picking particular spots on the faded wallpaper as a way to try to improve his accuracy. He was actually quite accurate, much to his delight. The fire he produced was rather persistent, and it didn't go out easily. Takato made a note in his mind to remember that fact if he ever needed to light a fire when camping or something.

'_This is so cool!'_ He thought to himself. _'I'm quite pleased with my progress today. At least I'm not as scared of myself as I was this morning, haha!'_

His celebratory thoughts were interrupted by the sound of gunfire.

**BANG.**

He ran towards the window nearest to the sound of the gunshot and peered down into the alleyway. The sun was setting in Shinjuku, which made the unlighted alley fairly dark, but Takato could make out two figures.

**BANG.**

Another gunshot. Takato saw one of the men holding a gun, shooting at the other figure that was hiding behind an abandoned car. He knew he should probably stay out of it and go home, but he couldn't. He had all this power, and he felt he should use it to save the person being shot at. He produced a large ball of fire, kicked the glass out of the window and threw the ball just in front of the figure with the gun. The flames stretched the distance of the alley, wall to wall, blocking the men off from each other.

The man with the gun was startled, staring up at Takato's masked form. He quickly pivoted on his heels and ran away off down the alley and out of sight. The figure behind the car emerged, not taking his eyes off Takato, who jumped out of the window, falling down six stories before landing on the hard ground with a forward roll to absorb the impact. He stood up and was about to introduce himself when he was cut off by the other man.

"You idiot! What do you think you were doing?" the man shouted angrily.

"Huh?" Takato asked, confused. "I just saved you from getting shot!"

"You think you saved me? Ha! I didn't need saving, I was hunting him down!" the man replied.

Takato looked the man up and down. He had large broad shoulders, and he looked quite big and strong, but he appeared unarmed. He wondered why the other man with the gun was running away from an unarmed man, even if he was quite big. The man was wearing a black trench coat, and underneath he wore a plain black suit. He had jet black hair and distinctive green eyes which stared back at Takato intensely.

"Why would he be running from you?" Takato asked curiously. "He was the one with the gun."

"Ha, guns. A fearsome weapon, to those who are only human. Not to me though, and apparently not to you either judging by that fire you made, and from the way you jumped down six flights without so much as a strained muscle."

The man raised his hands and suddenly electricity flowed around them. Takato's eyes widened in realisation, the realisation that he was not the only one with powers.

"Y-you have abilities…like me…what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know how I got them and I don't care," the man said. "I just care about justice. That man you let get away was a local drug dealer. I needed him to tell me where to find his boss so I can…shut him down, so to speak."

"So to speak?" Takato probed suspiciously. "What do you mean by that?"

"It does not concern you. But if you ever see me on the hunt again, stay out of my way," the man warned. "I don't have a problem with you, but I will remove any obstacles that present themselves, got it?"

The man turned to walk away before Takato spoke again.

"Wait!" he exclaimed. "Let me help you!"

"I don't need any help," the man said turning back to face Takato.

"You don't look like you need help, but I want to help," Takato replied. "To make up for letting him escape. If you want to help clean up this city, then I want to help you."

The man stared at him momentarily. He then pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, before scribbling something down and handing the paper to Takato. He took it and looked over the numbers that were written down.

"If you really want to help, get a new and unregistered phone and call me on that number later tonight. If, and I mean if we work together, we should have clean phones to communicate with each other to cover our tracks. After all, you don't look like you want to be identified judging by your choice of clothing."

"It's something I'd rather avoid, yeah," Takato confirmed. "I'll call you later…but what should I call you?"

"Walker," he said. "Daniel Walker. And what's your name? Or do you have some alter ego I should address you as?"

"To be honest, I hadn't really thought about it," Takato said truthfully.

"Figures. Be careful who you aim those fires at, you could cause a lot of chaos with those hands."

Takato clasped his hands together in a strange effort to appease Daniel, who simply smiled to himself. Takato looked at him, wondering why he was smiling.

"Chaos. That is what I shall call you," he stated.

Daniel turned around and walked off, disappearing out of view around the corner into the main residential streets, leaving Takato alone in the alley with his thoughts.

'_Chaos, huh. That could work.'_

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So I've been a little busy with Christmas this week, and a little lazy with writing haha. I've been enjoying my newfound freedom from sixth form (equivalent to the last year of school for any US readers) a little too much! But here I am with a finished chapter 4, if a little later than I'd originally planned.

So we have a few main plot points that have progressed here. So far Henry hasn't really featured a whole lot, but with the appearance of Yamaki that's about to change. My decision to include Yamaki in this fic along with Hypnos was a bit of a late one, but I'm sure you're going to like the direction I go with it. Hypnos is going to operate in a slightly different way to the Hypnos in Tamers, but that'll all become clear in future chapters.

As well as that, we have our first official meeting between Takato and Daniel. And finally the title of the fic is actually used in a chapter! I have to say, I've read numerous fics where Chaos is the name of an alter ego of Takato's (Blazing Chaos' Dimensions series, and the Tamers Forever series by Daneel Rush I believe) and I have always loved it as a name, so I felt I had to use it.

All that's left to say now is please do review! Let me know what you like, what you dislike, what you think could be improved and what you think is going to happen next! I always reply to every review so maybe we can get a discussion going too! And finally, have a very Merry Christmas!


	6. Partners

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Digimon, any of its characters or its ideas. This is a non-profit work of fiction written purely for entertainment purposes.

* * *

><p><strong>CHAOS<strong>

By TheApex

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER FIVE<strong>

Partners

* * *

><p>"Come in," Takato invited somewhat shyly. "Sorry about the mess, I didn't think I'd be having guests, heh."<p>

When Takato had woken up that day he hadn't thought to tidy his apartment up. He had been too pre-occupied with thoughts of the day ahead, mostly about seeing Rika and how he should act around her, but also about when he should call Daniel and arrange another meeting. He wasn't sure what to make of the Englishman, but his intentions seemed good. He appeared to want to make a difference with his powers. He had goals. Takato had none, and had so far not thought anything of how to use his powers, until he'd met Daniel the previous evening of course.

He decided he would call Daniel later than evening after he'd seen Rika to arrange a meeting for later on in the week. From then onwards, his thoughts had focused on Rika. He'd quickly showered and shaved, had a small breakfast which consisted of a very plain cereal, and then gotten dressed in a hurry and headed out to catch a train to see Rika. Seiko greeted him at the door and invited him in, at which point a fully dressed Rika stormed out of her room and hurriedly pushed him back out and into her car, demanding directions to his apartment block, to which he complied submissively.

They briefly stopped off at a petrol station to fill up the car. Takato had offered to pay for the petrol, which nearly earned him a slap from the fiery redhead who fiercely refused the offer, presenting him with a view of the money she'd been given by her grandmother the night before. She quickly paid for the petrol and they were back on the road again. They avoided the main roads of Shinjuku and instead drove around the busy areas, cutting their journey time significantly.

Takato put the key in his door and opened it, welcoming her inside by stepping to the side to allow her to walk in before closing the door gently behind her. She walked into the living room and scanned around, before moving around the small apartment doing the same in every room. Takato thought it a bit odd, but kept his thoughts to himself.

"Nice place," Rika said. "How can you afford it?"

"Huh?" Takato asked confused.

"Well, for a start you don't have a job as you've only just graduated," she said. "And while this may not be the most expensive part of Tokyo, it still ain't cheap. You rob a bank or something, Gogglehead?"

Takato laughed at the suggestion. The thought of him robbing a bank truly was amusing, as it really was not the sort of thing he could ever picture himself doing. It just was not in his character to be intentionally mean.

"No, no bank robberies or anything illegal like that," he answered. "Before my parents died their business was doing really well, and making some serious profit. We owned the property outright so there were no debts or mortgage to pay off."

He took a deep breath before continuing. Talking about his parents was still rather raw, despite their passing nearly three years previous.

"After their death I couldn't live in the same place anymore, so I sold the building and got a good price for it. I used that money to buy this place, which left me with quite a bit of money still left over. I also sold sixty per cent of the business, which meant I got more money and I still get a healthy income from the profits. I'm essentially just a shareholder though. My business partner runs the business with his family and he respects my decision not to get too involved, so it all works out nicely for us."

"Wow," Rika started. "Sounds like you're pretty secure financially…"

"Yeah I guess…but I'd trade it all in to have my parents back."

"Yeah…" Rika said quietly. "I'm sorry…you know, to hear they're gone and all…must have been really hard for you."

"It still is some days," Takato replied honestly. "There are good days and then there are bad days. It would help if I could talk to someone who had experienced the loss of both parents, or even just one parent."

Rika turned her head away and stared into her lap. Her hands clasped themselves together, and she closed her eyes as painful memories from her childhood came flooding back. Memories of happier days, days when she was just like any other normal little girl. She was a very private person, but she felt compelled to share her memories with Takato. His story was hard to listen to, and even though he didn't show it, Rika knew he had suffered a huge amount of pain. She knew, because she too had felt that way once.

"My father left me when I was four," she said quickly. "I kind of know how you feel."

Takato looked to his side at the young woman, slightly surprised. He hadn't thought to ask about her father, who had not made an appearance or been mentioned at all until that point. He raised his arm slightly, about to place a comforting hand on Rika's shoulder, but he decided against the move, lowering his arm again.

"What happened?" he asked cautiously before hastily adding; "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."

"No…I-I just don't usually open up to people…least of all boys," she said. "The truth is…I don't know what happened. One day he was there, and then he was gone…"

"Aw, man, that's harsh," Takato said sympathetically. "Not knowing why must be the hardest thing about it all…at least I know why my parents are gone."

As he spoke those last words, Takato felt his jaw tighten as he too remembered the circumstances surrounding his parents' deaths. Rika's voice broke his chain of thoughts.

"The last time I saw him was a great day," Rika started. "We went to the park, and he played with me. I adored him…I sang my favourite song for him while he pushed me on the swings…then we went home, and the next morning he was gone…"

At this point Takato scooted over and put his arm gently around Rika's back and rubbed her upper arm softly. She turned her head to face him and looked up into his eyes.

'_Oh my God…she's going to kiss me!'_ Takato thought to himself.

"Takato…" Rika said. "What do you think you're doing?"

'_Huh?'_

"Uh…well…I erm…I don't know, trying to…comfort you?" Takato said unconvincingly and nervously. "I-is that okay?"

There was an awkward pause as Rika thought about the question. Takato could feel his cheeks burning with embarrassment which he hoped would go unnoticed.

"Fine," she said. "As long as you don't dare tell a soul about this!"

"I won't!" Takato replied abruptly.

"Good!" she said. "I told you about my dad. What happened with your parents?"

Rika felt Takato's hold around her loosen slightly at the question. She felt a tinge of rejection at that, but the feeling subsided as Takato opened up and began to tell her the story of his parents' deaths.

"They were murdered," he stated gravely. "I was at school when I heard the news. It happened around lunch time. A customer came into the bakery and tried to force my mother to empty the till at gunpoint. When she refused, the guy shot her dead, and then he murdered my father as he came down the stairs from our home. The murderer took the money and ran off."

"Oh…" Rika said, stunned. "I'm so sorry…"

"It's okay," he said quietly.

"Wait…is your last name Matsuki?" Rika asked. "It is, isn't it? Your family owned the Matsuki Bakery! Now I remember, your parents' murder investigation was all over the news for months…they never did convict anyone, did they?"

"No, they didn't," Takato said. "They arrested a prime suspect, but they never found the murder weapon and he walked. There's been rumours he's been bragging about getting away with it, but I honestly don't know if that's true…"

Rika turned to face Takato and pulled him into a hug, resting her head on his shoulder. He was quite surprised at the gesture, and it took him a second to return the hug. Rika waited a few seconds before pulling away shyly.

"Thanks Rika."

"It's okay Gog-Takato."

* * *

><p>Henry had seen the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building many times in the past. As one of the tallest skyscrapers in all of Tokyo, it was hard to miss after all. Although the building had several observatories open to the public, he'd never ventured up to see the view of the city from up there. The building itself on the inside was surprisingly plain for a government operated building. Each floor was much the same, or at least that's what Yamaki had told him. He'd arranged to meet the older man early that morning while they were talking at Henry's apartment the day before.<p>

Rows and rows of desks and swivel chairs lined each floor with various different departments all working together, all day every day. That all changed when Yamaki took Henry into the Hypnos department's headquarters. It was a vast dome shaped room, with giant screens covering the entire domed part of the building. There was a large computer station at the back of the room large enough to seat at least four people who could work simultaneously. To the right of the building was a large see-through tank, which appeared to house a ball of light, which flickered rapidly, creating a flashing effect.

"Welcome to Hypnos, Henry Wong," Yamaki greeted. "This is the system I have designed. The entire ceiling is like a giant television with which I monitor digital activity. There's a lot of activity, but the screens combined provide me with enough coverage to be able to monitor everything that our government views as a threat."

"What kind of threats?" Henry asked.

"Originally I designed Hypnos to monitor the usual threats such as terrorist activity, those who sought to hack into our government's networks, foreign agencies etcetera," Yamaki explained. "However shortly after Hypnos was launched, I began to notice huge spikes of data occurring on an increasingly regular schedule. At one point about two weeks ago, I saw an unprecedented data spike over East Shinjuku, and after conducting field research I concluded that this was the first incidence of digital bio-emergence."

"Bio-emergence? What's that?"

"I'll save you the technical stuff. Basically, bio-emergence is a term I used to describe the process of digital data taking on a physical form in the real world. Essentially it's just like a transfer of data from a memory stick to a computer, only it's a transfer of data from the Digital World into our world."

Henry raised his eyebrows in scepticism, a look which Yamaki picked up on.

"Do you have any evidence that proves your theory?" Henry asked.

"If you turn to face the tank over there, you'll have all the proof you require," Yamaki said. "It's called a Digital Containment Tank. I designed it to capture any bio-emerging data at the point where it takes on its physical form. Unfortunately, two unknown Digital Entities have escaped into the city. But I captured this one, the most recent bio-emergence, and I've been studying it carefully."

Henry walked up to the tank and placed his hands gently onto it. He peered inside at the flickering ball of light, marvelling at its bright, angelic shine. It looked truly magical to him.

"Is it alive?" he asked.

"Honestly, I don't know. It may be self-sustaining, or it may need a host to survive. It may not even be living at all. I haven't progressed far into my research. And that's where you come in."

"Me?" Henry replied, turning his head to face the older blonde man.

"Of course," Yamaki said. "I cannot do this all on my own, and nobody else qualified has the flexible imagination of a young man. They simply can't grasp the concept of data being real. But you can, and you have the skills to make yourself very useful as a Hypnos technician."

* * *

><p>Takato and Rika had spent nearly seven hours at Takato's apartment. They talked, played some Digimon card battles, watched a movie and then talked some more. At just gone six o'clock Takato walked Rika down to her car and said goodbye, and she drove back home feeling very satisfied with the way the day had gone with her new friend.<p>

Takato went back to his apartment and into his bedroom. He opened the top drawer in his chest of drawers and took out his black jeans he had worn the previous night. He pulled a small piece of paper out of the right pocket, and then he folded the jeans up again, placing them neatly back in their place before closing the drawer. He grabbed his phone and quickly punched in the number Daniel had given him. The line rang a few times before the call was answered.

"Who is this?" Daniel asked curtly.

"Uh…Chaos?"

"Oh, it's you. I have to say, you took longer to call than I had expected," Daniel said.

"Sorry, I just had a bit of a busy day, you know."

"So have I. I've found out where that drug dealer lives. You want in? It's your chance to fix your fuck up from last night. If you were serious about helping me, of course."

"Absolutely," Takato said eagerly. "Where should we meet?"

"When you hang up I'll text you the address. I'll be waiting for you outside the front door at exactly seven PM. Be punctual, I won't wait for you."

"O-okay, sure," Takato said. "What are we going to do with this guy anyway?"

"You'll see soon enough," Daniel said darkly.

* * *

><p>Henry had been shown around the Hypnos department, and his first impression of the place was one of impressiveness. Hypnos clearly had huge financial backing behind it, and its potential for the future was limitless. The only issue Henry had with it was that he did not know what exactly he would be doing if he took the job.<p>

"What would I be doing for Hypnos if I took this opportunity?" Henry asked.

"Mostly programming to start off with. I don't need much help at the moment, so you would only be required to work Monday to Friday, nine to five," Yamaki said. "However, it really depends where Hypnos goes in the future. You can develop your skills here in the meantime, and who knows how important the work we do here will prove to be?"

"That sounds quite reasonable. What is the salary like?"

"Rest assured you will be adequately rewarded," Yamaki stated. "You'll be working for the government, and we like to ensure all our employees' efforts are fully appreciated. You'll be paid much more working for us than you would if you worked as a programmer anywhere else, and pay for government employees increases annually in accordance with inflation plus two per cent."

Yamaki walked over to his desk and sat down in his leather office chair. He reached down and opened a drawer, pulling out a five page document before closing it again. He turned the document around and pushed it towards Henry.

"This is the employment contract I drew up specifically for you. It contains everything you need to know. Read it over and then make your decision. If you need more time, you will have it, of course."

Henry picked the document up and began reading it. The print was quite small, and there was a lot of text to get through. Yamaki resisted the urge to flick the lid of his zippo lighter, knowing the sound would likely distract the younger man from his reading, and instead took out a smartphone from his pocket and began to play pinball on silent. By the time Henry had finished reading, he had racked up a very high score, but not quite beating his all-time best score.

"Okay, I'm finished," Henry announced.

"You're satisfied with everything?" Yamaki probed. "If you have any issues, we should discuss them now."

"No no, everything seems to be in order," Henry said with a slight smile. "When do I start?"

* * *

><p>As soon as Daniel ended the phone call, Takato yanked open his clothes drawer again and pulled his clothes out. He threw off the clothes he had been wearing and got into the black jeans and black hoody he wore the last time he'd seen Daniel. He also pulled out the knee, elbow and shoulder pads, attaching them over his black clothes. He shoved the ski mask into his pocket and headed for the front door.<p>

His phone buzzed, letting him know he'd received a text message. He quickly opened it, memorised the address and slid the phone back into his pocket. He knew where to go, and exactly how to get there. He poked his head outside his front door to make sure the corridor was clear, and he then locked up before heading straight for the roof again. When he arrived at the roof, he made sure to put his ski-mask on before leaping to the next building. It was starting to get dark, but it wasn't dark enough to go undetected.

When he arrived on the roof of the address he'd been directed to, he dropped down via the side alleyway out of sight of anyone who might spot him. He checked the time on his phone. He was three minutes early. He walked around to the front, and to his surprise spotted Daniel standing there waiting for him.

The older suited man's trench coat trailed behind him as he approached Takato's alter ego Chaos. Daniel raised his left wrist and glanced at his watch briefly.

"You're on time. Good," he said. "Our target is in this building, in the apartment on the fourth floor."

"Wow, how do you know that?" Takato asked.

"I did my research, Chaos," Daniel replied. "Now, if you're in, let's go and pay him a little visit."

Daniel headed towards the front door, closely followed by Takato. They entered the building and ignored the elevator, instead choosing to walk up the two short flights of stairs to the second floor. The building was old and derelict, the walls covered in graffiti which looked as if it had been added to for many years. The lighting was bad, with some bulbs flickering and others simply not working at all.

They stopped outside a plain door which had the number twenty three written on it in permanent marker, presumably because the metal numbers they had spotted on other doors had fallen off with age. Daniel knocked twice loudly. Takato stood at his side, adrenaline pumping and ready to spring into action. There was a pause. The door opened slightly, caught on the latch, and a man poked his head around to peer through the gap. His eyes widened in shock and fear.

"Shit!" he shouted, slamming the door shut.

"How rude," Daniel noted calmly.

He swung his leg at the centre of the door and smashed it clean off its hinges, the latch and lock pulling away from the door frame and sending wooden splinters flying inside the apartment. Daniel leapt over the fallen door and Takato repeated the action. They ran into the living room, where the drug dealer had a phone glued to his ear. The drug dealer saw them approach, and he dived in front of a sofa as he mumbled a few words on the phone.

"He's calling the police!" Takato shouted.

Daniel bent down by the sofa, slid one hand underneath it and flipped it over, sending it flying into a wall. The drug dealer looked up in terror as Daniel yanked the phone from his grasp and tossed it at a window, which shattered upon impact. He grabbed the terrified drug dealer by the collar and threw him into a chair.

"Chaos, show him what you can do," Daniel commanded.

Takato wasn't sure where Daniel was going with it, but he complied anyway. He opened both fists and summoned large fire balls which he threw at a painted portrait on the wall. The portrait burst into flames and fell off the wall, the frame falling apart as it hit the floor. The drug dealer watched in astonishment and fear.

"W-what the hell are you people?" he cried.

Daniel slapped the man's cheek, before grabbing his jaw and leaning in close towards his face. He raised his free hand towards the drug dealer's face and formed a ball of electricity mere centimetres from his eyes.

"Who we are is irrelevant," Daniel replied. "What we want is far more important."

"What do you want with me?"

"We do not approve of your occupation. What you do destroys the lives of thousands of innocent people every year in this city. You and your little drug dealing friends have created a filthy subculture of dependency and desperation that breeds crime and death. We are here to start cleaning up your mess."

"Okay! Okay! I-I'll stop with the drugs, take them all!"

Daniel punched the man in the gut, forcing a cry of pain from the man's mouth.

"Where are the drugs?" he asked.

"They're in my oven, man! Just t-take them all!"

Takato headed for the kitchen. It was a complete hovel. The surfaces were filthy. There was a huge pile of dishes that had yet to be washed. There were plates of mouldy food lying around, creating a foul stench that Takato couldn't help but smell. He ignored it and opened the open door. He pulled out several bags of various drugs and needles, and headed back to Daniel, holding them up high for both men to see.

"Burn it," Daniel ordered.

"Hey, come on guys, you don't need to burn it! That's got a street value of more than the price of a new car!" the drug dealer said in desperation.

Daniel punched the man in the gut again, before nodding at Takato as a sign to continue. Takato placed the bags on a coffee table in a pile, and formed a fire ball in his right hand. He glanced at Daniel again, and then set the bags on fire, the drugs slowly burning away on the table.

"Shit," the drug dealer said quietly. "Alright, you got what you wanted, now just leave me alone…"

"Oh we're not quite finished just yet," Daniel warned.

The drug dealer looked up at Daniel in fear, and Takato also turned to face his older accomplice.

"We're not?" he asked.

"No," Daniel replied curtly. "We may have destroyed his product, but that does not stop him from getting his hands on more."

"Uh, so what are we doing now?" Takato asked curiously.

Daniel smiled slightly and looked at the open window. He looked back at Takato and nodded towards the window.

"Look outside for me," he said.

Takato was confused, but he walked over to the window and looked outside. The street was lit by rows of street lights on either side of the street, and there were a few cars driving by with their headlights switched on. Takato wasn't sure what he was looking for exactly.

"Am I supposed to be seeing something here?" he asked.

"Tell me, are there many cars outside?" Daniel asked.

"There are a few, why?" Takato inquired, puzzled.

He didn't get an answer to his question. While Takato stared out the broken window, Daniel stood the drug dealer up and swiftly buried his foot in the petrified man's chest, sending him flying into the wall inches from where Takato stood. He was kicked with such force he flew through the solid brick wall and fell. Takato watched in horror as the man fell right in front of a moving car, which swerved too late to avoid the falling body. The collision was sickening, and was met by several screams from passers-by.

Daniel walked up to stand next to Takato at the edge of the now exposed apartment and looked down at the body. As the two men stared down at the body, many people looked up and saw them standing there. Takato stood frozen in a state of shock, not quite able to comprehend what he had just witnessed. Daniel merely smirked, before pulling Takato away.

"Come on Chaos, let's get out of here," he said. "The police will be on their way."

"W-why?" Takato cried.

"Simple. He was scum and he needed elimination," he said calmly. "Now you can leave with me or you can stand here like a lemon until the authorities arrest you for murder. Your choice."

Daniel headed for the exit, leaving Takato standing in the middle of the apartment. He stood there for a few minutes, gathering his thoughts and gradually lulling himself out of his state of shock. He pulled his mask off and rubbed his hands over his face. His head snapped to his side as he heard the distant sound of police sirens approaching. He hurriedly put his mask on and headed out and away from the apartment.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Sorry about the delay! I've had a very lazy Christmas and New Year! Unfortunately I don't foresee the rate of new chapters increasing over the next month as I have exams throughout January which are rather important, and so passing those with a good grade must be the priority.

That being said, I hope you liked this chapter! If you did, let me know in a review! If you didn't, tell me why! Predictions are also welcome! I reply to all reviews personally to show my appreciation so maybe we can get a conversation going! Thanks for reading!


	7. Morals

**DISCLAIMER:** I do not own Digimon, any of its characters or its ideas. This is a non-profit work of fiction written purely for entertainment purposes.

**CHAOS**

By TheApex

* * *

><p><strong>CHAPTER SIX<strong>

Morals

* * *

><p>Daniel stepped into his apartment, took his trench coat off and hung it on the hook by the door. He placed his keys down on the coffee table in his living room and pulled his suit jacket off, hanging it on one of the wooden chairs that were neatly assembled around a small dining table. He carefully removed his black tie, folding it twice and placing it on the dining table in front of the suit jacket. He ran his hand over it, flattening it down and removing any lingering creases. He unbuttoned the top three buttons of his plain white shirt and un-tucked it, and then proceeded to remove the cufflinks he had on. He placed them just in front of his tie and rolled his sleeves up.<p>

He ran his hand through his jet black hair as he headed towards his office, and to the wall of pictures and information. It was hard for him to believe that months of research could fit on just one wall for it seemed such a small space. He picked up the permanent marker off the desk, removed the lid and crossed off face number two.

"It's all falling into place," he whispered to himself. "Slowly, but surely. That's what you get for selling Sarah drugs."

He put the lid back on the marker and tossed it back on the desk. He perused his 'investigation' for a moment. There were still a lot of faces to get to, a lot of justice to be served. A lot of people to be killed. And until it was complete, he could not rest.

His thoughts turned to the events of earlier that evening. It had been simple enough. He hadn't needed Chaos' assistance, and yet he was glad the boy had turned up. Although he hadn't seen Chaos' face, he was sure he was just a boy, no older than twenty he guessed. His tone, the words he used, the way he held himself, all of those things reminded Daniel of the guys he knew in high school before his arrest.

He could tell Chaos was shocked by the climax of their little adventure. The boy had not expected him to kill the drug dealer, and was clearly shaken by the experience. In hindsight, Daniel could see that it probably wasn't a good idea to throw Chaos in at the deep end. But on the other hand, the boy was not his responsibility, and he would not mother him through the experience. They were not playing a game and if the boy could not handle it, then he would tell the boy to stay away.

Despite silently vowing not to be the proverbial shoulder to cry on for Chaos, Daniel knew he would need to discuss the issue with the younger man. He decided he would lay the rules down once and once only, and would give the boy a choice. He could continue to fight crime as his partner, or he could get out of the whole thing before he gets in too deep. Chaos had good intentions, but Daniel was unsure whether his heart would allow him to continue.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He went into his call log and dialled the last and only number he received a call for on his new phone. It was now just after ten o'clock in the evening, an hour and a half since he'd left Chaos standing in the wake of their devastation. He was sure the boy would be in a decent enough state of mind to talk. Or at least he hoped he would be.

"Hello?" came the younger man's voice.

"Chaos," Daniel greeted. "I trust you escaped before the authorities arrived, as you're answering your phone."

"I uh, yeah…"

"Good. Listen, I'm going to keep this short and simple. Meet me tomorrow at three o'clock in the afternoon. I'll text you the address."

"Wait!" Chaos cried. "I…I need to talk to you about earlier-"

"Don't say another word," Daniel warned. "It's safer to talk about that face to face. You never know who may be listening. Meet me tomorrow and we'll talk."

"We're just going to talk, right?"

"That is correct. Remember, be punctual. I will not wait for you."

"I-"

Daniel swiftly ended the call. He was sure Chaos would turn up, despite his reservations. He would come if only to get some answers to his questions and to make his opinions known. Daniel quickly typed the address into his phone and texted it to Chaos. He placed his phone onto the desk and headed into the kitchen for a well-deserved meal and a drink to end the day.

* * *

><p>As Rika pulled up outside her home, she had to remind herself to wipe the slight smile off her face. She had enjoyed her day with Takato, and her time with the boy had come with a few surprises. Firstly she was surprised she had been so open with somebody she hardly knew. She rarely talked about her past, and even less so about her father. Secondly she was surprised that she felt a sense of commonality with Takato. She had lost her father, and Takato had lost both of his parents. They shared a common pain which most others had not experienced at such a young age, and as such she felt a strange connection with Takato, albeit a sad and painful connection.<p>

And yet she felt happy despite all the memories and hearing about the tragedy that ended with the Matsuki murders. She finally found a human connection that she wasn't scared of or felt was a waste of her time. Granted she was still guarded towards him. After all, she could not be sure that the clumsily amusing young man would stick around for very long, and so she reminded herself not to get too attached to him.

She got out of her car and locked it before entering her home. She briefly greeted her grandmother and explained that she and Takato had eaten a meal at a fast food restaurant, and so dinner wouldn't be necessary. It wasn't entirely true, she had just gone for a burger by herself, but she figured her grandmother need not know the finer details.

She slipped her shoes off and headed for her room. She quickly got changed into some comfortable shorts and a baggy top, and sat down at her desk. She was surprisingly tired and intended only to check her emails before heading off to sleep. Her inbox was full of the usual spam, and Rika deleted several emails offering her Viagra and breast implants.

'_Yeah, like I'd ever need breast implants. They're big enough already!' _she thought to herself, half moaning about her ample breast size and half satisfied that on the plus side, she didn't feel the need to get implants.

She went on her Google homepage and paused a moment. She knew she probably shouldn't, but her curiosity got the better of her. She began to type and when she clicked the Enter key, she began her search into 'Takato Matsuki'.

* * *

><p>"Aw, come on!" Takato whined as he heard the tone go dead.<p>

Daniel had ended the call, he concluded, and so he put the phone back in his pocket and collapsed on to a chair in his living room. He slowly removed the various safety pads he wore as part of his Chaos outfit and placed them on the floor in front of him. He stared out the window at the night sky. The stars sparkled and the ever reliable moon reflected the sun's light back onto the Earth. The skies were clear, and there was no rain or wind. It was a very calm night, much in contrast to the way Takato felt.

The day's events were also in contrast. His day had been excellent, and he'd really enjoyed spending time with Rika, who he now considered to be his friend. However his evening had been a disaster. He had not expected to become an accessory to murder when he'd woken up that morning. His heart raced as he replayed images of the drug dealer's body falling to street level, and the cries of citizens passing by were embedded into his mind.

He grabbed the TV remote by his side and switched the TV on, hoping to find something to take his mind off the evening's events. Instead, he was greeted with the news, and he had tuned in at exactly the wrong time.

"Breaking news this evening; approximately three hours ago a man fell to his death from the second floor of a building in North Shinjuku. The man, who fell into the path of oncoming traffic, has just been identified by police as twenty-nine year old Jeiku Toreishii, who had been arrested several times by police on illegal drug offences. He was released from prison last year after serving a six month prison sentence for illegal possession of cocaine."

"Please let that be the end of the news," Takato pleaded to nobody in particular. "I don't want to make the news twice in one week!"

"Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding Mr Toreishii's death. Moments ago they released CCTV images of two men caught entering the building shortly before the incident and exiting the building moments after the incident. Take a look at these images."

The news broadcaster paused as blurred images of Daniel and Takato appeared on the screen. They both had their backs to the camera, with Daniel's trench coat blowing in the wind to reveal his suit as he walked away from the building, and Takato's outfit in full view of the camera, although blurred.

"Police would like to talk to these two men regarding tonight's incident. If anybody knows who these men are, they are asked to please contact the police and inform them. Any information given will be in the strictest confidence and police assure us they will investigate any tips they receive."

Takato turned the television off and placed the remote down on the side table beside him. He leaned forward and buried his head in his hands. He couldn't believe what was happening. He had expected Daniel to scare the drug dealer into a career change and then keep an eye on him, or something along those lines. Never had he anticipated that Daniel would kill him!

He jumped up, unable to stay seated, and began to pace up and down the living room, running his hands through his hair as he tried to organise his thoughts.

'_Okay Takato, calm down. It's not like you actually killed anybody. Daniel killed him, not you,'_ he rationalised to himself. _'He was a drug dealer. He was a bad person. He hurt people and the drugs he sold probably destroyed lots of people's lives…he deserved to die…didn't he?'_

He couldn't answer his question. Who was he to decide who gets to live and who gets to die? He didn't know how the recently deceased got into dealing drugs. He may have had a tough life and been forced to deal drugs in order to survive or he may have been forced by someone to sell drugs for them. Lots of scenarios began to flood into Takato's mind as he considered the moral aspects of murdering people that society would label as being bad.

'_I can't do this,' _he thought. _'I can't be a part of murder. I don't want to be that kind of person. A murderer killed my parents, and I will not murder someone else's parents, sons, or daughters, no matter how bad I may think they are.'_

Takato had made his decision. He would meet Daniel the following day and tell him that he could not be a part of Daniel's murders. He still wanted to clean up the city, but he would just have to find another way to do so, a way he could live with.

* * *

><p>Henry Wong was awoken the next day by his alarm clock at half past six in the morning. He reached over and turned the alarm off before climbing quickly out of bed and heading for the shower. Today was going to be a very special day. Today was his first day at work for Hypnos, and he was determined to make a good impression. His new boss Mitsuo Yamaki had said that he could start on Monday, as today was Friday and he would then have the weekend off anyway, but Henry decided to go in regardless.<p>

He wanted to get stuck in straight away. After a quick shower he dried himself and raided the wardrobe. His usual orange sleeveless jacket and brown jeans would simply not do. He was now officially an employee of the Japanese government, and he was going to dress like one. He dug out the black suit he wore for graduation and laid it down on his bed. He put his socks and boxers on, followed by his suit trousers. He looked them over for creases briefly, and then put his plain white shirt on. He buttoned it up to the top and tucked the bottom into his trousers. He slipped his shoes on before turning the shirt collar up and putting his scarlet tie on, and then turning the collar down.

He walked into the kitchen and quickly gathered a bowl, a spoon, some cereal and a carton of milk. He poured some cereal into the bowl, followed quickly by some milk, and he placed the spoon in the bowl. He swirled the spoon around, ensuring all the cereal was covered by milk. He put the milk back in the fridge and sat down at the dining table. He hurriedly ate the cereal while also being careful not to spill any on his shirt.

When he was finished, he placed the bowl and spoon in the kitchen sink and went back into his room. He picked up and put on his suit jacket. He buttoned one of the two buttons on the jacket and briefly looked at himself in the mirror. He had to admit to himself in a slightly vain moment that he looked rather good. He slipped his phone in his pocket, grabbed his keys and headed for the door.

He arrived at Hypnos headquarters sooner than he'd expected. He'd never walked directly to the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building before, and was surprised at how close he was to it. The walk had only taken just over half an hour and he arrived at twenty minutes past eight, ten minutes early. The receptionist at the front desk handed him his new pass, which he clipped to his jacket pocket, and he headed upstairs in the elevator. He arrived in the dome shaped room once more and inside he saw Yamaki waiting for him at the desk.

"Good morning Henry," he greeted. "Welcome to Hypnos once again."

"Thank you sir," Henry replied.

"Please, take a seat beside me," Yamaki invited.

Henry walked over and pulled the swivel chair out from under the desk next to Yamaki and sat down. Yamaki handed him a sheet of paper, which he looked over intently.

"This is your login username and password. There are also some basic instructions that will help you get used to the Hypnos system interface. It'll take a little getting used to, but I'm sure a capable young man such as you will master it very shortly," Yamaki explained.

Henry typed in his login information and the Hypnos interface appeared. A few symbols presented themselves to him, which he recognised from the piece of paper he'd just finished reading.

"Right then," Yamaki said. "Let's get to work."

* * *

><p>Takato had awoken with similar thoughts on his mind as the night before. Sleep came with difficulty, and when it did come it was not long before he woke again with sweat pouring down his face and his heart racing. He finally got up at nine in the morning, feeling even more exhausted than he did the night before.<p>

He spent the next five hours going through the motions. He had some breakfast, had a shower, and watched a movie. If he hadn't seen it before, he wouldn't have been able to tell anyone what the film was about, as his attention was far from the television screen. When it reached two o'clock, he got dressed in his Chaos outfit and headed for the roof once more. He took a last look at the address Daniel had given him, and jumped from rooftop to rooftop to get there.

He arrived on the roof of an eight storey building to find Daniel waiting on the roof for him. He was surprised to see the man waiting for him there and not on the ground floor as they met last time, but quickly dismissed it. It was irrelevant in the grand scheme of things.

"Hello Chaos. You're a little early and I was hoping to have this sorted before you arrived…" Daniel said with a tinge of annoyance in his tone.

"Uh…have what sorted?" Takato asked.

"To cut a long story short, the drug dealer we visited yesterday has a boss. He's a particularly paranoid man, and he likes to conduct his deals on the roof of the building opposite," he paused, gesturing towards the five story building in front of them. "He usually meets his suppliers at two-thirty every Friday, giving him enough time to circulate the drugs to his dealers for Friday night and the weekend. However, he appears to be late today, and the suppliers have been waiting around for a little while. I do hate it when people are late."

"Oh…right," Takato said. "So…why haven't you, you know, gone over there and taken the drugs?

Daniel scoffed and pointed towards the suppliers. Takato looked and saw three very pale, skinny men pacing around with six briefcases that he assumed were full of drugs.

"Look at them," Daniel instructed. "Those suppliers are your typical middle class degree educated chemists looking to make some money on the side. Once they hear their boss is out of action, so to speak, they'll soon go back to their day jobs and never even think about drugs ever again."

He paused, raising his left wrist up to glance at the time, before letting his arm fall once again.

"No, I want the main man. Today he's only getting the drugs he's selling in Shinjuku. He does deals like this every day of the week, all over Tokyo. This guy is the kingpin for drugs in this city. Whatever you want, this guy will sell it. Once I take him out, drugs will become a lot harder to come by around here."

Takato was about to ask whether killing the man was necessary, but decided against it. Instead he raised another point.

"But won't somebody else just take over and become the new kingpin?" he asked.

"No doubt," Daniel replied calmly. "But they'll soon get the message once they all start to die."

"You're going to-"

"He's here," Daniel interrupted.

The two men crouched down and watched as the so called kingpin burst onto the roof in a hurry. He was a short, round man dressed in a white suit and adorned with gold rings and necklaces. Flanking him were two bodyguards, dressed in black suits and both considerably taller than him, and they looked like they could certainly handle themselves in a fight.

The suppliers exchanged briefcases with the bodyguards and both parties checked the contents of the cases. With both parties satisfied, the suppliers headed towards the stairs and disappeared from view. The kingpin didn't head for the exit straight away, pausing to make a phone call.

"I think it's time we introduced ourselves," Daniel said.

Despite the crouched position he was in, Daniel managed to bend his knees even more, before bursting up and jumping high into the air before falling to the roof below, his trench coat flowing above him as he did so.

"Damn it," Takato cursed to himself.

He followed closely behind Daniel, following the same motions. The two bodyguards, who had noticed the two figures in the sky, began to run towards them. Daniel landed on his feet, allowing his knees to bend and he rolled forward over his head and back onto his feet in a crouching position, before bursting forward towards the oncoming men. He threw his fist towards them, catching the nearest bodyguard in the face. As he flew back, Daniel's fist continued on and crashed into the second bodyguards face.

As Takato landed on the roof, so too did both the now unconscious bodyguards, although they landed in a rather more sickening fashion. The kingpin dropped his phone and headed for the exit, forgetting all about the briefcases he had come to collect. Daniel grabbed his collar and threw him to the floor, knocking the wind out of the fat man, while Takato ran over and checked the two bodyguards were still breathing.

"They'll be fine," Daniel said indifferently.

"They're still breathing," Takato confirmed.

"Shame that," Daniel commented as he punched the kingpin in the gut and getting a groan of pain in response. "Hello Ren Chitose. You've been a bad boy."

"Fuck you!" Ren shouted, earning a back handed slap in return. "You know my name so you must know who I am! I'll have you killed! I'll have your family killed! And just because you got my suit dirty, I'll have your friends killed too, motherfucker!"

"Whoa there! Did your mother never teach you any manners?" Daniel mocked. "Either way, dead men can't order deaths, so I'm not intimidated."

"You're going to kill him?" Takato asked, dismayed at the idea.

"Yes, I am," Daniel replied. "It is quite obvious you don't like the idea, so I don't expect you to take part."

Daniel grabbed Ren by his suit jacket with both hands and dragged him to the edge of the roof, looking over. Ren had picked a clever spot to do his drug deals, as there were few people around and even fewer cars. Unfortunately for him, he also picked a spot that was high enough to kill anybody who fell from it.

"Wait!" Takato cried as he began to run forward towards the edge

Daniel threw Ren over the edge, and the tubby man howled as he fell through the air. Takato could only watch as Ren fell to his death. He seemed to hang in the air for an eternity before the inevitable splat of flesh and bone on concrete.

"Chaos, listen to me," Daniel ordered. "Remember what I told you about Chitose. He was a career criminal who made a living off the suffering of innocent people. He deserved to die."

Takato's eyes were fixed on the body of Ren Chitose. He had now witnessed two murders, and he couldn't take any more. He had decided the night before that he didn't want this, and the sight of Ren's dead body reinforced his decision.

"I…I can't do this!" He choked. "I-It's too much! I don't want to kill people…I want to make this city better, I really do! But not like this…"

"Fair enough," Daniel said coolly. "You're a good kid Chaos, and I respect your decision. Your heart is too pure right now, but in time you'll realise that if you want to make a real difference, you've got to get your hands a little dirty."

"I don't believe that. There has to be another way…"

"Well, if you find another way, you let me know. But for now, it's time for you to leave," Daniel said. "Go home Chaos. Make a difference in your own way, and in your own time."

Takato nodded, and with one final look at Ren, and then at Daniel, he jumped back onto the opposite building's roof, and then back the way he came, silently vowing along the way to never use his powers to kill anyone if he could avoid it.

* * *

><p>Daniel watched as Chaos disappeared from sight. He waited a minute, before taking out an envelope from his trench coat's inner pocket. He opened it and removed the two CCTV pictures that were broadcast of him and Chaos the night before. He took out a marker pen and wrote Chaos on the picture of Takato, and on the back of the picture of himself, he wrote;<p>

_For far too long, we have put up with scum that have spread their disease and tainted our great city. I refuse to allow this to continue. Chaos is out of the game, but I will continue the work we started together. Those who would bring harm to innocents will feel my WRATH._

He put the two pictures back in the envelope and sealed it shut. On the front, he wrote 'TOKYO POLICE DEPARTMENT' before putting the pen back in his pocket. He jumped down and landed next to the still-warm corpse. He picked up one of Ren's hands and placed the envelope underneath it, before disappearing down a dark alleyway and out of sight.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **So, I'm back! I know it's been a while since my last update, and I'm sure those of you who followed this fic probably thought I'd never get round to finishing it. But here I am, here to continue! I have finished all my exams, and I have a completely free schedule until mid-September time, so I am determined to finish this fic. I hope you've enjoyed this chapter!

Let me know what you thought via the medium of reviews! Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like, and what you think is going to happen in the future. Constructive criticism is also welcome, as long as it is constructive! Thanks ladies and gentlemen!


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